A stowaway evaded multiple airport security checkpoints and flew aboard a Delta Airlines flight from New York to Paris Tuesday evening, authorities said – a shocking breach that raised serious alarm over airport security. The individual, who did not have a boarding pass, completed security screening and bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations to board the aircraft, according to a spokesperson for the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The person was not carrying any prohibited items. It’s unclear how the person, a US green card holder, bypassed the boarding stations. Delta declined to provide additional details as the investigation continued.

Passengers weren’t alerted to the stowaway on Delta flight 264 from New York’s JFK International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport until the plane landed in Paris, said Rob Jackson, who was a passenger on the flight. Flight attendants have access to the flight's manifest, which lists passengers and seat numbers, allowing the crew to verify the woman was a suspected stowaway and not ticketed for the flight. Three pilots and eight flight attendants were on Tuesday's flight, according to the source. Delta didn't disclose the number of passengers, citing ongoing investigations into the incident.

In order to be present at an airline departure gate for boarding, an individual must have cleared a TSA security checkpoint. After getting through TSA security, it's unclear how exactly the woman boarded the plane without showing a boarding pass or passport to Delta staff. "Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security," Delta said in a statement. "That's why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end."

French law enforcement and the TSA are separately investigating. The woman could be subject to a civil penalty or fine for bypassing the document check process. There is new technology known as e-gates that are being rolled out at airports which involves using biometrics to check travel documents as part of the international departure boarding process. Such technology would have caught the stowaway. Experts have warned that this Thanksgiving travel week in the United States will be the busiest ever. The T.S.A. said that it expected to screen 18.3 million travelers from Tuesday through Monday, which would be a 6 percent increase from last year.

This daring and bold act of evading security checks to stow away aboard a Delta flight has cast a shadow over airport safety and sparked an urgent investigation into how such a breach occurred. As authorities work to unravel the details, it serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining vigilant and effective security systems at airports worldwide. The hope is that this incident will lead to stronger protections to prevent similar acts of defiance from threatening public safety in the future.