Another Delta Stowaway Incident Prompts Airport Safety Concerns Amid Busy Holiday Travel Season

A second stowaway incident involving Delta Air Lines in as many months raises concerns over airport safety during the busiest travel period of the year.

An unticketed passenger was discovered onboard a Honolulu-bound Delta flight as it was taxiing to the runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Christmas Eve.

An airport spokesperson told CNN that the individual went through a TSA security checkpoint the night before the flight without a boarding pass and "gained access to the loading bridge without a scanned ticket at the gate" the following day.

"The aircraft returned to the terminal and the subject departed the aircraft," the Port of Seattle confirmed in a statement. "With the help of video surveillance, POSPD were able to locate the subject in a terminal restroom. The subject was arrested for criminal trespass."

The flight was delayed by more than two hours because every passenger had to be deplaned and rescreened by TSA.

"The aircraft was swept by K9 as well as all areas in the terminal accessed by the subject," the Port of Seattle said. "The aircraft was deplaned and all passengers were escorted by TSA to return to the security checkpoint for screening."

Delta commended its crew members and issued an apology for the inconvenience.

"As there are no matters more important than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended," Delta said in a statement. "We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation."

TSA said it will conduct an independent review at Sea-Tac as a result.

The Christmas Eve incident occurred the same day that a body was found in a wheel well of a United Airlines flight traveling from Chicago to Maui and one month after an unticketed 57-year-old Russian woman was able to board a Delta flight from New York City's JFK Airport to Paris ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), hiding in a plane's wheel well is the most common method used by stowaways despite the danger.

Credit: Patrick Clarke / Travel Pulse