JFK Stowaway Detained in Paris After ‘Disruptive Outburst’ on Flight Back to New York
A fifty-something Russian woman who this week made headlines for sneaking onto a Paris-bound Delta flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy airport remains in detention in the City of Love after causing such a scene that she was removed from her flight back to the United States.
The unnamed stowaway has been held at Charles de Gaulle airport since Wednesday morning, having passed security and successfully boarded a plane the night before in New York.
She holds a Russian passport and U.S. green card, but had been denied an asylum request in France some years ago. After landing in Paris and being detained by local authorities, she asked for asylum again—and was denied again.
While she was supposed to be sent back to the U.S. on Saturday, she was kicked off the return flight because of what’s being described as a “disruptive outburst” by the New York Post.
Transportation Security Administration officials as well as JFK and Delta security are all investigating how the woman made it through TSA screening, multiple ID checks and onto the flight without a boarding pass.
She apparently hid in a bathroom at the back of the aircraft during takeoff and then rotated between that and other bathrooms during the flight. While some news reports claimed the flight was fully booked, officials told the New York Daily News that the stowaway also used an empty seat at times.
Most of those onboard were only alerted to the incident when they arrived. “The first announcement to passengers that there was a problem was when we parked at the gate,” one passenger told CNN. “They instructed us all to remain seated because French police were going to board the aircraft to deal with ‘a serious security issue.’”
The woman is expected to face a slew of state and federal charges when she finally makes it back to the U.S.
