The TSA placed some blame on the lack of funding for enhanced identity screening technology.
A Delta 767 in Paris (Photo: Shutterstock | Rebius)
Delta refused to transport a stowaway back to the U.S. on Tuesday after they boarded a flight from New York to Paris without a ticket last week, according to a CNN report.
The report cited an unnamed Paris airport official who said that the carrier wouldn’t fly the Russian woman back to America on a flight scheduled for Tuesday, but would instead fly her on Wednesday. Delta did not comment on why she was not allowed to fly.
The 57-year-old woman will now be escorted by two French security officials on a Delta flight back to New York on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. local time, the CNN report stated.
The TSA confirmed with AirlineGeeks that an individual without a boarding pass was physically screened without any prohibited items brought into the secure area of the airport and boarded the aircraft.
“The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded the aircraft, but again, did go through standard screening,” an agency spokesperson said. “TSA takes any incidents that occur at any of our checkpoints nationwide seriously. TSA will independently review the circumstances of this incident at our travel document checker station at JFK.”
The TSA said advanced technology is in place to ensure no other threats are present via its multi-layered security screening process.
“Some airports are making infrastructure investments at the checkpoint such as barriers around the ticket document checker podium, which could prevent such incidents,” the spokesperson said.
The TSA continued that it opens a civil case against any passenger when there is evidence that regulations may have been violated.
The TSA also placed some blame on a lack of funding for screening technology, stating another solution that hasn’t been deployed yet in the U.S. are “e-gates.” Combined with TSA’s facial recognition technology, e-gates would only open to allow ticketed passengers access to a gate, the spokesperson added.
Many airports worldwide already use this technology, including several in Europe. The technology eliminates the need for a security officer to physically check documents before passengers enter the screening area.
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