The crew on one Delta flight last week got quite the surprise when they realized a 9-year-old passenger didn’t have a boarding pass.
An unnamed Minnesota boy entered the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport on Wednesday and then boarded a flight to Las Vegas on Thursday — without a boarding pass or seat assignment, according to local news station KARE 11.
The boy made it all the way to Nevada, but was met by police upon landing. The Delta crew had become suspicious mid-flight and called the Las Vegas authorities, Fox News reported.
But the boy had also been up to some tricks on Wednesday. The 9-year-old took luggage off a baggage claim and ordered food at a restaurant outside security. He ate and asked a server to watch the bags while he went to the restroom, but the boy never came back to pay.
MSP officials claim the stowaway incident was the fault of the Transportation Security Administration and Delta, not the airport.
“At this point, this is a Delta and TSA issue,” airport spokesperson Pat Hogan told KARE. “This is a rare incident.”
Both TSA and Delta told the news station they are reviewing the incident and cooperating with the agencies involved.
The boy has remained in protective custody since the incident. Las Vegas and Minnesota authorities are working to return the boy — who is assumed to be a runaway — to his parents.
