Stowaway Caught on Delta Plane After Boarding Christmas Eve Flight Without a Ticket

A Hawaii-bound Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was delayed over two hours on Christmas Eve when a stowaway was discovered by flight attendants just before takeoff, prompting the pilot to make a U-turn on the runway and return to the gate.

The passenger, whose name has not been released, had made it through TSA screening and onto the plane without presenting a boarding pass at the gate. They were found while the flight was taxiing.

“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," a Delta spokesperson tells PEOPLE. "We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.”

PEOPLE reached out to the Port of Seattle for comment.

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Federal authorities from the Transportation Security Administration tell PEOPLE the Christmas Eve incident is still being investigated, but "can confirm an individual did go through standard screening and did not possess any prohibited items."

That was on the evening of Dec. 23, airport media relations manager Perry Cooper told CNN. The next day, the person “gained access to the loading bridge without a scanned ticket at the gate."

"The individual bypassed the identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded an aircraft at Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA) without a boarding pass," TSA says.

Law enforcement from the Port of Seattle later apprehended the stowaway, using video surveillance to locate the subject in a terminal restroom after deplaning, CNN reported.

"The subject was arrested for criminal trespass," the Port of Seattle told the outlet.

Related: Flight Attendant Hospitalized After Falling from Plane Moments Before Takeoff: Reports

A civil case has been opened up against the passenger, standard practice whenever TSA regulations may have been violated.

"TSA takes any incidents that occur at any of our checkpoints nationwide seriously," a spokesperson tells PEOPLE. "TSA will independently review the circumstances of this incident at our travel document checker station at Seattle/Tacoma International."

Additional security checks, including customer rescreenings, were conducted by TSA in the wake of the discovery, according to the organization. A K9 swept the aircraft and all areas in the terminal the subject had accessed, the Port of Seattle said.

The Delta flight 487, which was operating on an Airbus A321neo aircraft, was able to take off after a 2 hour and 15 minute delay. It landed in Honolulu at 3 p.m. local time.

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Just last month during the Thanksgiving holiday rush, another stowaway, later identified as Svetlana Dali, was discovered on a Delta flight from New York to Paris.

Dali — a Russian national woman who was arrested by the FBI after stowing away on that Delta international flight — was arrested again on Dec. 15, ABC News reported, this time for allegedly cutting off her ankle bracelet and trying to sneak into Canada on a Greyhound bus.

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