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A recent incident at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport involved a passenger attempting to board a Delta Air Lines flight without a ticket. The individual was discovered before the aircraft, an Airbus A321 operating as Delta Flight 487 from Seattle to Honolulu, took off. The plane had begun taxiing when cabin crew identified the unticketed passenger.
The aircraft returned to the gate, and law enforcement officials from the Port of Seattle Police Department were summoned for "a report of a suspicious circumstance." Although the identity of the person is currently unknown, they left the plane and were later found in one of the airport terminal's restrooms.
For security reasons, all passengers were required to deplane and undergo rescreening by TSA before reboarding. This process resulted in a delay, with the flight eventually departing at 15:15. In response to inquiries about this incident, Delta Air Lines issued a statement quoted by CNN Travel: "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. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation."
