The person accused of sneaking onto a Delta flight without a ticket is under arrest

A person was arrested on Christmas Eve after being accused of sneaking onto a Delta flight from Seattle to Honolulu without a ticket.

According to the airline and the Port of Seattle Police Department, the person, who has not been publicly identified, was caught while Flight 487 was taxiing.

The pilots returned the Airbus A321neo aircraft to the gate, where the person somehow managed to get off the plane, officials said. Through video surveillance, police found the individual in a terminal restroom, where he was later arrested for criminal trespass, the police department said.

“The aircraft was swept by K9 as well as all areas of the terminal accessed by the subject. Out of an abundance of caution, the aircraft was deplaned and all passengers were escorted by TSA to return to the security checkpoint for screening,” the police department added.

The whole ordeal caused the flight to be delayed by more than two hours.

“Because there are no more important issues than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures for an unticketed passenger to be removed from the flight and then detained,” a Delta spokesperson said. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their journey and thank them for their patience and cooperation.”

Delta added that the Transportation Security Administration re-evaluated the person without a ticket after he was removed from the flight.

The person passed security and was not carrying any prohibited items, TSA officials told HuffPost in a statement.

“The individual bypassed the identity and boarding status check stations and boarded an aircraft at Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA) without a boarding pass,” TSA officials said. “TSA takes seriously any incident that occurs at any of our checkpoints nationwide. TSA will independently review the circumstances of this incident at our Seattle/Tacoma International Travel Document Verification Station.”

The incident is similar to a court in November when someone snuck onto a flight to Paris from a New York airport. The individual was arrested in Paris.

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