Summary A mother's frightening experience on a Delta flight raises concerns about security measures at airports nationwide. Delta's response to the incident suggests that airlines need to improve processes for verifying passenger identity before boarding. Despite no charges being filed, questions remain about how the unidentified man was able to board the wrong flight.
A mother from Georgia is still demanding answers from Delta Air Lines after her family was involved in a shocking incident earlier this month on a flight from Washington Dulles. The mother, Lauren Benton, noted that her husband and two children were flying from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Atlanta (ATL) when a strange man appeared to follow her family throughout the terminal and eventually onboard. Keeping their distance The family noted what was going on, and Benton stressed she tried to keep her distance from the strange male when the family was waiting for their flight in the terminal; however, they were shocked to see the man onboard the flight as they headed to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport .
Once seated onboard, their panic increased when the male sat in their row. Benton recalled when she first became worried: "My heart started beating immediately -- I didn't know what this man's intentions were. He was standing in the ladies room washing his hands, and I was immediately alarmed.
" Benton's husband decided to confront the male and asked if this was his seat, and eventually, the stewardess onboard stepped in and requested to view the individual's boarding pass. However, he was unable to produce it. The TSA then removed the unidentified passenger from the aircraft, and it was established the passenger had a boarding pass for another flight later that day.
It has also been made clear by the administration that there was no security violation as the passenger did hold a valid ID and boarding pass for travel and had the right to be in the terminal. No passengers or crew were reported injured. Get all the latest aviation news for North America here More questions than answers Unsurprisingly, this has raised several questions from both TSA and the passengers about how the individual could board the incorrect aircraft and not be intercepted by the gate agents and the crew checking boarding pass information at the time of embarkation.
Former federal security director Gerry Phelan noted to ABC that the airline should've been more observant: "Delta should ensure that that boarding pass matched up with the individual, which it did. But it certainly didn't match up with the flight that they're boarding that time." The Metropolitan Washington Airports Association has confirmed that after the passenger was removed from the aircraft, police were called to the gate to question the individual.
However, no charges were filed. The male was then allowed to continue his journey (albeit on his actual booked flight). Delta released this statement to ABC News following the incident: “Delta has processes in place for gate agents and flight crews to verify that individuals onboard aircraft prior to departure are customers that are booked on that particular flight.
Delta is reviewing the matter in question internally and has been in touch with airport authorities in conjunction with this review." The issue took three months to resolve, and the passenger was left out of pocket for an expensive same-day flight on another carrier..
