Delta Air Lines’ Stowaway Shows Flaws in the Security System. Here’s How

Delta Air Lines recently made headlines because of a stowaway who made it to France on the travel giant. This incident, however, effectively demonstrated the flaws in the system. Let’s take a look at what we know about this scenario.

Delta Air Lines’ Flawed Security

According to CBS News, officials verified that a stowaway managed to board a Delta Air Lines flight from New York City to Paris on Nov. 26 without a boarding pass.

According to the outlet, the woman boarded Delta Flight No. 264, which was traveling from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. She was apprehended in Paris after being found while the aircraft was in midair.

According to a source familiar with the matter, a flight attendant found the suspected stowaway, who made repeated and extended trips to the Boeing 767-400ER’s multiple restrooms throughout the flight, which was nearly full but not sold out. One of the biggest wide-body aircraft in Delta’s inventory, the 767-400 can accommodate 238 passengers when configured for the carrier.

After the plane landed, the captain said over the intercom, “We’re just waiting for the police to come on board, they may be here now, and they’ve directed us to keep everyone on the airplane until we sort out the extra passenger that’s on the plane.”

According to a Transportation Security Administration source who spoke to CBS News, the woman somehow avoided the document and ID check part of the TSA procedure and then proceeded through a body scanner equipped with advanced imaging equipment at a checkpoint at JFK Airport. Before she got to the gate and sneaked onto the Delta Air Lines flight, her baggage was also searched for prohibited goods, per the source.

A TSA official added that it could “confirm that an individual without a boarding pass was physically screened without any prohibited items. The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded the aircraft.”

“TSA takes any incidents that occur at any of our checkpoints nationwide seriously,” the spokesperson continued. “TSA will independently review the circumstances of this incident at our travel document checker station at JFK.”

“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” Delta Air Lines said in a statement. “That’s why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end.”

Per CNN, the stowaway was a Russian woman and a U.S. green card holder, and an airport official in Paris said she would be sent back to the United States. She was supposed to be sent back on Saturday, but she caused a “disturbance” on her scheduled flight and was removed before the plane could take off.

The Airline Was Also Reported to the CDC

This is just the latest bit of bad press that the airline giant has had to face. Late last month, Delta Air Lines was reported to the CDC after the airport received reports of sick passengers.

There were complaints of unwell passengers on two planes that landed at Boston Logan Airport at the same time on Sunday, Nov. 24. After emergency services teams got on the scene, two people were finally taken for further care.

The aircraft, operated by Avianca and Delta Air Lines, landed within 30 minutes of one other. When Simple Flying reached out to the Massachusetts Port Authority for a response, a spokesperson said the calls were made out of caution.

“Massport Fire responded to two flights that came in around the same time yesterday afternoon with passengers complaining of illness,” the statement read. “We reached out to the CDC out of an abundance of caution.”

The Avianca service originated in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador in Central America. The Airbus A320 (registered N902AV) departed El Salvador International Airport Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (SAL) at 7:56 on Sunday morning, a bit later than scheduled. In a statement to Simple Flying, an airline spokesperson admitted that a passenger was sick, but there were no other issues on the plane.

Less than half an hour later, the second plane touched down in Massachusetts. The service in question was Delta Air Lines flight 225 from Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris. A little more than an hour later than scheduled, the seven-hour Airbus A330-900neo aircraft departed France at 12:53. No passengers had reported getting sick, and there had been no further cancellations or delays, according to a Delta Air Lines spokesperson who was called for comment.