Delta flight delayed after woman boards without ID, boarding pass

A Delta flight from Orlando, Fla., to Atlanta was delayed on Saturday after a woman reportedly boarded the plane without showing her ID or boarding pass. 

The woman was removed by Orlando Police officers after she was found in another passenger’s seat and could not produce her boarding pass or identification, USA Today reported, citing an incident report.

The woman told officers she had thrown away her ticket and was not carrying any form of identification, according to USA Today. {mosads}

Delta delayed the flight for 2 hours and 41 minutes, according to FlightAware.com. 

Passengers were rescreened before their flight departed at 1:16 p.m., according to USA Today. 

A passenger shared a video of the incident with WSB-TV, an Atlanta-based ABC news affiliate, in which an exchange is heard between a flight attendant and the woman, who offers a photo when asked for identification.

“What do you need, what do you need?” the woman is heard asking. 

“I need a government issued ID,” the flight attendant responds.  

“Ok, well I’m showing the picture ID,” the woman responds. 

“Ma’am that’s not a government ID. That’s a photo,” the flight attendant replied. 

Delta issued an apology to passengers and in a statement to The Hill said it is working with law enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as well as conducting its own review.

“Delta apologizes to customers of flight 1516 for the delay after a person not ticketed for that flight was removed from the aircraft,” the airline said. “Security officials then directed a precautionary rescreen of everyone onboard. Delta is working with local law enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration on their investigation and we are conducting our own review of this as well. Safety and security is always our top priority.”

TSA public affairs manager Dani Bennett confirmed to The Hill that the woman did go through screening at the TSA checkpoint.

“We are working with law enforcement to investigate the incident at the plane and will not be providing any additional information at this time,” Bennett said in an emailed statement.

–This report was updated at 3:30 p.m.