Stowaway disrupts Delta flight in Seattle, apprehended before take-off

SEATTLE, Washington: An unticketed passenger disrupted a Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Honolulu on Christmas Eve, marking the second such incident during the holiday travel season.

The individual, whose identity has not been disclosed, was discovered on board Delta Flight 487 while the plane was taxiing for departure. Delta confirmed that the aircraft returned to the gate, following protocol to remove the stowaway.

Law enforcement apprehended the individual, and as a precaution, all passengers were deplaned and re-screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint, according to the Port of Seattle, which manages Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The flight eventually departed for Honolulu, delayed by 2 hours and 15 minutes.

"Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended," a Delta spokesperson said. "We thank our customers for their patience and cooperation."

The Port of Seattle revealed that the stowaway had passed through a TSA checkpoint the night before the flight "without a boarding pass but was properly screened." The individual also accessed the boarding bridge without a scanned ticket, leading to their unauthorized presence on the aircraft.

Shortly after 1 p.m. on December 24, Port of Seattle Police responded to a report of "a suspicious circumstance." By the time authorities arrived, the stowaway had fled the aircraft. With the help of video surveillance, police located and arrested the individual in a terminal restroom for criminal trespass.

A TSA spokesperson confirmed that the passenger underwent standard screening and did not possess any prohibited items. "The agency takes any incidents that occur at any of our checkpoints nationwide seriously," the spokesperson said, adding that an independent review of the situation is ongoing.

This incident follows another stowaway case involving Delta during Thanksgiving week. Svetlana Dali, a Russian woman with U.S. residency, evaded security at New York's JFK International Airport and flew to Paris on November 26 without a ticket. She was arrested upon arrival and later returned to the U.S.