Mystery stowaway that sneaked past JFK Airport security denied asylum in Paris, will face charges in US: sources
The sneaky stowaway who evaded multiple checkpoints at JFK Airport to board a Paris-bound flight begged for asylum once she landed in France — but was denied, sources told The Post Friday.
Instead, the tricky lady was sent packing back to the US on a one-way ticket, where she’ll face a slew of charges by multiple law enforcement agencies for the Tuesday shenanigans, sources said.
Sources said the stowaway, a 57-year-old woman with a Russian passport and a US green card, eluded multiple layers of security to sneak aboard a Delta flight to the City of Lights.
According to the Transportation Security Administration, the lady stowaway sneaked past the TSA passport and boarding pass screener during one of the busiest travel days of the year, and successfully passed through the security checkpoint without raising any alarms.
“The individual did not pose a threat to civil aviation,” a TSA spokesperson told The Post.
Flight attendants were tipped off when they noticed the vagabond passenger rotating between bathrooms during the fully booked flight, according to the ticketed passengers privy to the troubling incident.
“We somehow flew all the way from New York to Paris with a stowaway,” a first-class passenger explained on Instagram. “This woman somehow got on the plane and hid in a lavatory during takeoff and wasn’t detected until we were about to land.”
One New Yorker told CNN that the plane’s pilot “instructed us all to remain seated because French police were going to board the aircraft to deal with ‘a serious security issue.’”
The Delta passenger also told CNN that the flight was totally booked, leaving the extra passenger few options to blend in during the transatlantic flight.
The mystery woman was detained by French authorities upon landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport in France, and has remained in custody until officials place her on a return flight back to the Big Apple, sources told The Post.
After landing, Port Authority officers are expected to arrest the stowaway for theft of service, plus a host of other charges.
The unidentified stowaway will also face federal charges that are to be determined, according to sources.
She’s expected to return to the US Saturday, sources added.
She had applied for asylum in France years ago, according to CNN, but sources told The Post that her asylum request this week was denied.
Multiple investigations are currently ongoing to sort out how the passenger was able to evade not only TSA screeners but also Delta’s boarding checkpoint at the airline’s terminal.
Delta offered no updates on Thursday as to how the woman gained unauthorized access to the trans-Atlantic flight or any other details unearthed in their internal investigation.
“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” a Delta spokesperson 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.”
The FBI and the Department of Justice did not respond to inquiries from The Post.
Port Authority, who is responsible for overseeing the airport, declined to comment.
