Woman boards flight without a ticket
Passenger arrested for criminal trespass
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A woman managed to board a flight in the US without a ticket.
Yaazmina Payton, 23, allegedly got on a plane at Chicago O’Hare Airport on 8 November, despite not having a boarding pass.
She has since been charged by Chicago police with a felony count of criminal trespass at an airport and a misdemeanour count of criminal trespass to a vehicle, reports the Chicago Sun Times.
It is not clear which airline was involved, but Ms Payton got on a plane at Terminal 3, according to police.
She was removed from the aircraft before take off and was arrested without incident.
“The safety and security of all travellers are our top priority,” a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson told Fox News.
“We are investigating this incident and cases of this nature can take up to 90 days.”
It remains unclear how Ms Payton managed to bypass security without a valid boarding pass.
It’s not the first time a passenger has managed to get on a flight without proper documentation.
In 2019, a 13-year-old boy prompted a police investigation after he managed to board a flight at Heathrow airport without a ticket.
The unaccompanied minor was discovered on board a British Airways flight to Los Angeles on 14 July after cabin crew asked to see his boarding pass.
When it became clear that he did not have the correct travel documentation, the entire flight was de-planed and passengers had to go through security again.
Police believed the boy arrived at Heathrow as a transit passenger.
A British Airways spokesperson said: “We have apologised to our customers for the delay to their flight after an issue during boarding.
“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority and everyone who had boarded the aircraft had been subject to security checks.
“We conducted additional precautionary screening as soon as this issue came to light and we are assisting the police with their enquiries.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments