Man arrested for boarding flight using young girl’s ticket

The man allegedly boarded the aircraft with the image of another passenger's boarding pass. Photo / NZME

A man in the United States was arrested this week for allegedly trying to “steal a flight” in the most slapdash way.

An FBI investigation is under way after a man boarded a flight using a picture of another passenger’s boarding pass. The incident took place on Sunday on Delta Airlines flight 1683 from Salt Lake City, Utah, bound for Austin, Texas.

The man, named as Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, of Texas, was arrested for an attempt to “stow away” on the commercial aircraft.

Under US law, stowaways on vessels or aircraft without consent can be imprisoned for up to five years or fined up to U$1000 ($1600).

The complaint issued by the airline was accompanied by CCTV footage that appeared to show Fleurizard taking photos of other passengers’ phone screens “while they were not looking”, reported USA Today.

According to a Delta gate agent, a young female passenger had an issue trying to scan her ticket for departure. A check of the system showed her as already on board the aircraft.

Fleurizard had apparently stolen a young girl’s ticket, causing chaos.

Later testimony reported the man spent a “significant amount of time” in the plane toilets.

The girl was boarded and as the cabin crew tried to find space for her, they noticed there were “no available seats”. It quickly became apparent there was one too many passengers for the number of places. As Fleurizard returned from the toilets, he was challenged on his seat number, 21F. It soon became clear the seat was not under his name.

After flight crew could not find any record of a booking for Fleurizard, the plane returned to the gate and the man was escorted off by Salt Lake Airport police.

“Fleurizard admitted he made a mistake and was only trying to get home,” reads the airline complaint.

Delta said it was co-operating with law enforcement and the investigation was ongoing.