A stowaway bypassed screening measures before authorities discovered her on a flight from New York to Paris during the Thanksgiving travel rush, officials said Wednesday.
The unidentified woman boarded Delta flight 264, traveling from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on Tuesday.
A source familiar with the incident told NBC News that law enforcement removed her from the aircraft after it landed in Paris.
The woman, who boarded without a ticket, bypassed two “identity verification and boarding status stations,” a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration said. The spokesperson added that she underwent a full security screening before boarding, meaning she did not carry prohibited items and did not pose a security threat. Authorities have not clarified how she bypassed the ticketing stations, but they confirmed that anyone at a departure gate must have passed through the security checkpoint.
The flight left JFK at 10:37 p.m. ET and landed in Paris at 12:00 p.m. CET, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” Delta Airlines stated. “That’s why Delta is conducting a thorough investigation into what happened and will work closely with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement.”
No additional details about the woman have been provided.
