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A Norweigan man has left German authorities baffled after he managed to sneak aboard two flights with no ticket and without getting caught by security.
The 39-year-old man was finally turned over to officials after he caught the crew’s attention upon landing in Stockholm, Sweden, earlier this month, Germany’s federal police told The Independent.
The unidentified stowaway is now being investigated by German authorities for trespassing and fare evasion after boarding two flights without even purchasing a ticket, police said.
Police said the first incident occurred on 4 August at Munich Airport Terminal 2, when he got through security and boarded a flight to Hamburg without getting caught, supposedly tailgating a passenger so closely he bypassed an automated ticket check, the German newspaper Bild reported.
That was until the cabin crew realised there was no seat for him on the fully booked flight. The police were called and the man was handed over, but he was subsequently released.
Despite having a run-in with law enforcement, the man decided to, yet again, try and sneak on a plane undetected the following day.
The man was successful for the second time in passing through security and getting onboard another plane, Lufthansa flight LH2418, all without having a boarding pass. Since this flight was not fully booked, he was able to travel all the way to Stockholm, police spokesperson Sebastian Pinta said.
His actions eventually caught up with him when the Norwegian man then tried to fly straight back to Munich on the same plane, but this caught the attention of airport staff, local reports say.
Pinta said he was handed over to the police in Sweden following a “tip from airport staff.”
“The man did not pose any danger,” Pinta added to The Independent. “The investigation also showed that there was no intention to disrupt air traffic.”
It was reported by other outlets that the man was found carrying a knife with him once he reached Sweden. A spokesperson of the District Government of Upper Bavaria told The Independent that the knife was a permission-free item that complied with EU regulations.
“The knife was checked at the security check and, with a blade length of less than six centimetres, could legally be carried in the hand luggage,” the spokesperson said.
Andreas Roßkopf, the head of the police union in Germany, called upon Munich airport to explain how a man was able to board two flights without buying a plane ticket.
“I have never experienced this in my career as a civil servant. The airport must explain how this could have happened,” he told Bild. “Climate activists simply cut open fences, and now a passenger is flying through Europe without a ticket.”
Munich Airport told The Independent that they are currently conducting an investigation to determine how the passenger was able to get through the automated boarding pass check at the security checkpoint.
“The airline is doing the same for the boarding pass check at the gate, which is their responsibility,” the spokesperson for the airport added. “We have already sensitized access control staff and are deploying additional staff. We are also in contact with our partners, the authorities and the airline.
“The person passed through the security checkpoint in a regular manner and without any irregularities, as the state police has already informed us based on their investigation,” they said.
Lufthansa said in a statement to The Independent that they are aware of the case and that they “are already in close contact with the authorities and partners. The investigation is in full swing and will take some time. For investigative tactical reasons, no details can be communicated.”
“It should be noted that aviation security was not compromised at any time,” the airline added.
Similar stowaway incidents have recently occurred around the world, such as a trip taken by a Russian man, who was then sentenced to five years in prison after flying from Denmark to the west coast of the USA in November.
In a separate incident, a Texas man was also arrested after he managed to board a Delta Air Lines flight in March by using a photo he took of another passenger’s boarding pass while he was not looking.
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