Person found on US plane during Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, a stowaway was caught attempting to hitch a ride on a Delta Air Lines plane. This incident comes after another recent occurrence on a Delta flight where an unticketed passenger managed to make it all the way from New York to Paris just before Thanksgiving.

According to CNN, the stowaway was discovered while Delta Flight 487 was taxiing to take off for Honolulu. The airline confirmed the incident and both the Transportation Security Administration and the Port of Seattle also confirmed the incident to CNN. TSA stated that the individual had gone through standard screening and did not have any prohibited items. However, they were able to bypass the identity verification and boarding status stations and board the aircraft at Seattle-Tacoma without a boarding pass.

Once the stowaway was discovered, the aircraft, an Airbus A321neo, returned to the gate to remove the unticketed passenger. The Port of Seattle Police Department was alerted and dispatched officers to gate B1 at the airport. The airport reported a suspicious circumstance on Delta Flight 487 and the subject was later arrested for criminal trespass. The Port of Seattle stated that with the help of video surveillance, they were able to locate the subject in a terminal restroom.

The aircraft was swept by K9 units and all areas in the terminal accessed by the stowaway were checked. The passengers were escorted by TSA to return to the security checkpoint for rescreening. The flight was delayed by two hours and 15 minutes and finally departed for Honolulu at 3pm after the rescreening was completed.

In a statement, Delta said that the safety and security of their customers is of utmost importance and they followed proper procedures to have the unticketed passenger removed from the flight and apprehended. They also apologized for the delay and thanked their customers for their patience and cooperation.

TSA also released a statement, saying that they take any incidents at their checkpoints seriously and will independently review the circumstances of this incident at their travel document checker station at Seattle/Tacoma International.

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