Earlier this week, I wrote about how a Delta flight from New York to Paris had an unaccounted for passenger onboard (as first flagged by @xJonNYC). Amazingly enough, the plane made it most of the way to Paris before the crew caught on, so the traveler ended up being confronted by authorities upon arrival.
Continue reading: The Delta Paris Stowaway Incident Keeps Getting Stranger
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
It is not unrealistic for somebody from US or with a green card to seek asylum in Europe. The social welfare support, even if diminishing considering how hostile European countries are turning towards migrants nowadays, are a lot better than even having full no limit access to US society. In many states you are very likely to fall out of system and the government would be least concerned to support you or prop you back up, this goes for states governed by both parties.
Not giving excuses for whatever this situation is, but I can definitely fathom a situation where you would want to get out of US.
I fly Delta out of JFK all the time. How do you get past TSA? There are the entry lines, the kiosks, the actual security lanes. There are dozens of TSA agents all over the place. How do you get past all of that?
If she has a US green card and is therefore permitted to live there, she has no right to claim asylum elsewhere. It would only be a consideration had she arrived ( indirectly) from Russia to France. Suspect mental health issues.
Lucky: "and it landed in New York over two hours after departure." They must have made up some time in the air;)
The only thing I can think of is when it's busy, those lines can tend to merge together at the TSA verification point. Maybe she side stepped in behind someone else and dodged it? Considering she didn't have a boarding pass, that's all I can come up with. It sounds like a TSA officer, the Delta gate agents, and the FA's somehow all weren't paying attention.
That isn't true. Anyone has the right to claim asylum regardless of their citizenship or residency status.
Or maybe she booked a domestic flight to clear TSA screening?
Most US airports don't separate domestic and international flights when departing, so it's possible to book q domestic flight and hop on to an international flight.. if only you can go through the boarding gate.
@ NSS -- Just to be clear, she did go through security, she just didn't have her ID checked. The ID check would definitely be the easiest thing to skip, but still, it takes some luck/skill.
Come on Ben, Timmy Done insists you pause on posting all other DL news to ONLY focus on new Austin (hypothetical) dominance.
While it's very easy to see why someone would want to migrate from the US to the EU for economical reasons (the number of people doing is increasing year by year after all), it is not a valid ground for granting asylum. You generally need to be in physical danger, persecuted or similar.
I am surprised she was taken to the plane by police yet not escorted once boarded. I guess it's the honor system?
The concept of asylum has become completely distorted and no longer has any connection to its origins.
It’s very Orwellian.
This person is nothing if not wily, and she seems determined to stay in France. One wonders what her next move will be. Perhaps the French authorities will figure out a way to get her out, but the story continues.
She should be fined ithousands of USD for wasting passenger and airline time as well as being put on the NO FLY list
European countries aren't 'turning hostile' towards asylum seekers. It's your beloved USA where children get separated from their parents and put in cages on arrival. European countries still take tons of real refugees in every year, without questioning, and provide them with food and shelter. They just get a tad tougher towards fortune seekers who have limited to no chance of actually being able to take care of themselves or contribute in any way to society, due to decades of experience with the side effects of just blindly taking everyone in. Even Sweden has now gotten rid of the taboos about mass immigration and that tells a lot, given that Sweden might be the most politically correct country on the planet.
A Russian woman who already has a green card in the USA? No chance. She's already provided with a place to stay in the West, though she chose poorly. I do fully agree that the US is much more of an 'every man for himself' society with no social cohesion and certainly no empathy towards newcomers when compared to most European/EU states.
The premium gate agent let her slip through, while it took the premium cabin over half of the flight to finally understand that something was off and take premium action? They didn't check the premium toilets before departure? That's some wide-bodied, premium facepalm material to put on the balance sheet right there.
I'm not sure if she's mentally ill or just a fortune seeker with no money who finally understood that the USA was a very poor choice to seek asylum in the first place, especially when compared to Western Europe. So of course she started a row when she got released on board on the flight back. It's her final chance to stay in Europe, after all.
Deportations for simple inadmissibility, overstays etc are always handled this way. Police takes the person to the plane, they will stand by the door until it's closed to ensure the person is not getting off. There's no need for an on board escort (which is quite complicated and requires a lots of resources), that's only provided for more serious cases.
"'m not sure if she's mentally ill or just a fortune seeker with no money who finally understood that the USA was a very poor choice to seek asylum in the first place"
^ She is a Russian national and ...SHE HAS A US GREEN CARD.
No need to 'seek asylum'
Wow that’s a lot to unpack here. From blatant lies about the way US treats bona fide refugees and asylum seekers I.e. legally crossing the southern border to the complete lack of comprehension how social programs work in the US. Not surprised though as this liberal trash spewed by a liberal trash is something we are used to by now.
And before you even start your hateful tirade towards me - I am an immigrant who waited in line and went through the legal process to become a US Citizen…
Stop these lies and crawl back to your mamas liberal basement
Samo, she was a stowaway. A security risk. She was in jail 3 days prior to deportation. I can understand why France wanted her gone, but delta should have insisted on a safe arrangement. And indeed she did cause additional disruption. Clearly she justified the expense.
@US legal immigrant:
I find it hard to believe you’re being truthful. It seems most likely that you, too, crossed the border and used the system to become a legal immigrant. Perhaps we should have closed the door to you as well. What fascinates me is how some immigrants manage to sneak into the country, benefit from its liberal systems to gain legal status, and then turn around to criticize the very policies that allowed them to be here. They adopt conservative views—views that would have kept them out and may one day push them out—and even advocate for pulling up the drawbridge. It’s truly baffling.
If this woman is struggling with her mental health, I sincerely hope she gets the help she needs.
Regards,
A USA Born Citizen
Skipping the ID check is probably pretty easy because the stations are close together, people crowd, and the TSA agent is frequently looking back to see if the x-ray is backed up. I assume she hung out between two stations acting like she was part of one group or another and walked through when the agent looked away.
I would think getting on the plane is the harder part
How can you go thru security without getting your ID checked? Isn't that the essential purpose of going thru security?
I hope it is fully investigated and changes are made as necessary, with any TSA agent having underperformed receiving appropriate disciplinary treatment.
I'm aware she's a stowaway but I don't believe she's a security risk, there's no indication of her doing anything even remotely violent or disruptive before this flight. What has happened is a normal procedure, and as much as you may not like it, that procedure being used proves it's what's done in these situations 🙂 As for Delta insisting on something, they are legally required to take the passenger back, so they're not in the position to make demands. If they felt the normal procedure was unsafe, they could've hired their own security and then sue the immigration authorities. Either way, I assume that escort will be provided by French police for the next attempt, but I also believe there was no reason to provide one on the first attempt. Someone trying to fly for free doesn't make them "a security risk".
@ImportViking: Your logic doesn't make sense. Asylum isn't for people who don't have a place to stay in "the West" but rather for people whose are in danger to their life, being prosecuted, etc. West has nothing to do with this. I can see scenarios where this person could be for example someone who provided inteligence to the US authorities and is now scared of being in danger after the upcoming change of government in the US, as we know many Russia-aligned people are getting into high ranks. Since the French authorities have denied asylum, I assume it's not the case here (or at least they ruled the fear unreasonable), but you can see how a legitimate asylum claim could be made by someone resident in the US. This is really hard to judge unless we know what was the basis for the asylum request. As I wrote above, if it's merely economical reasons, it's a clear cut case. But it can be a lot of other things.
Send her back to Russia. She can assist in the glorious crusade of Tsar Vladimir to conquer Europe by not making the same mistakes Hitler did.
Feels like she might have had help from someone at the airport or the airline to be able to get past ID checks by TSA and at boarding.
Agree about the US, but are you not aware of a country called "Italy"? It's part of the EU.
You can believe in whatever you want. I didn’t “manage to sneak in to the country” my dear, I waited for over a year for my L-1B (you can educate yourself on what it is using Google), and then got my USC after following the lawful process of becoming a permanent resident and filing to become a naturalized citizen.
I believe in law and order, and I love the US. being a “USA born citizen” doesn’t give you any extra brain cells or a perspective on how people who lived in $hit holes like USSR under communism think or act. My views are in line with the majority of people of this great country. Have a great next 4 years snowflake
“You mean you cant just enter a country without the proper paperwork?”
No paperwork required when entering to apply for asylum; the paperwork is *after* one is on foreign soil.
Ignorance, immigrant, is not bliss. Project 2025's plan is to denaturalize people like you and kick you out of the country. You are not as safe as you think you are.
Regards,
A USA Born Citizen
Why not just put her on board and then halfway over the Atlantic open the door and give her a lifetime upgrade! You have a more efficient solution?
She has the right to *ask* for asylum in France. She exercised that right! But France adjudicated her request, and determined she doesn’t *deserve* asylum, since she obviously has permanent residency in the United States and presumably no credible fear of living or returning there.
TSA’s primary responsibility is to screen for weapons and prohibited items. The woman went through screening and no items were found.
She could have had a reservation for any other flight on a refundable ticket to make it through the checkpoint.
DL agents let her board the flight without a boarding pass. The DL flight attendants didn’t notice a woman was on the flight without a seat.
Most of us know where the majority of the fault lies.
Absolutely agree... she is a Permanent Resident (Green Card) - not a citizen... convict her of a felony and deport her now
Show how much attention the Delta crew (US Airlines) even notice their passengers. Typical in-attention and lack of service on US based airlines... they FINALLY figured out there was someone there..... maybe after the third attempt to get a Coke they noticed her...
Why return her to the US? So she can create more trouble? She is a Russian national, not a US Citizen! She clearly does not want to live in the US. Send her to Moscow! Are we all crazy here???
But to claim asylum you go through the port of entry and do it the right way! Can't wait for January 20th!
(1) She should be jailed and sent back to Russia.
(2) Delta is to blame for not securing the cabin pre-departure.
Old military saying along the lines: "If its measured, its done."
Have the DL executive who is responsible for stowaways deprived of his stock options and bonus for a year, and this will never happen again!!
The sad part is how many have been stowaways and were never detected!!
Take a guess who is sitting next to you or hogging the toilet!?! =:-)