A passenger without a ticket, a stowaway, was found on board a Delta Air Lines flight as it was about to fly from Seattle to Honolulu on Christmas Eve.

Delta Flight 487, an Airbus A321neo aircraft scheduled to depart Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for Honolulu on Dec. 24, was stopped while the plane was taxiing on a runway when the unticketed passenger, who was not identified, was discovered, according to the airline.

The aircraft returned to the gate, where the passenger was ultimately arrested.

“As there are no matters more important than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended,” the airline said in a statement. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.”

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Passenger boarded flight without a ticket

The Port of Seattle Police Department told USA TODAY that the passenger entered the airport the day before boarding the flight, on the evening of Dec. 23.

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the unidentified passenger passed through standard screening procedures and did not possess any prohibited items, but “bypassed the identity verification and boarding status stations,” and was able to board the aircraft without a boarding pass.

The TSA said that the incident was still under investigation.

After passing through TSA security, officials with the Port of Seattle said that the passenger had “also gained access to the loading bridge without a scanned ticket at the gate.”

Delta also said in a statement that “the unticketed passenger boarded the flight at the gate without presenting a boarding pass.”

Port of Seattle police said that once the aircraft returned to the gate, the unticketed passenger managed to exit the plane, but was later found in an airport terminal restroom.

The unticketed passenger was arrested for criminal trespass and booked into the South Correctional Entity jail in Des Moines, Washington, according to police.

Delta said that the flight was ultimately delayed for 2 hours and 15 minutes while TSA personnel conducted additional security checks. Port of Seattle police also swept the aircraft and terminal with K9 dogs.

Another stowaway caught on a Delta flight last month

The incident comes a month after a woman was found on board a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris without a ticket.

Cour documents from the arraignment of Svetlana Dali show that she managed to get through TSA security screening at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Nov. 26 by “entering through a special lane for airline employees masked by a large Air Europa flight crew.”

Dali was then able to board a Delta flight without presenting a boarding pass before she was eventually discovered after the plane had taken off.

On Dec. 16, Dali was arrested in Buffalo, New York on a bus bound for Canada, having cut off her ankle monitor.

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com.

CNN
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The boo birds were loud and clear Thursday night at Soldier Field following the latest Chicago Bears loss.

On a chilly, rainy night in Illinois – the Bears lost to the Seattle Seahawks in a 6-3 defensive struggle between both squads on Thursday Night Football.

Needing a field goal to at least force overtime, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams drove the Chicago offense all the way to the Seattle 40-yard line.

With a field goal attempt out of reach on fourth down, it was up to Williams to convert to keep the Bears alive but things went awry. The 23-year-old No. 1 overall pick was hit as he threw the ball and was intercepted by Seattle cornerback Tariq Woolen, securing the win for the Seahawks.

It was Williams’ first interception in 354 passes, which had been the longest streak by a rookie in NFL history.

All three field goals in the game came in the first half.

Williams finished with 122 yards and the interception, while Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith threw 17-of-23 for 160 yards.

Offense was almost non-existent, but both defenses held firm to keep the game within arm’s reach.

The Seahawks defense sacked Williams seven times to help keep them alive in the NFC playoff picture; NFL.com currently has Seattle with a 15% chance to make the postseason.

In a sign that perhaps Chicago needs to improve its offensive line, Williams has now been sacked 67 times this season. Former Houston Texans quarterback David Carr holds the NFL record for most times sacked with 76 back in 2002.

In the midst of Chicago fans chanting “sell the team,” Seattle signal-caller Smith told the Amazon Prime broadcast that the team “doesn’t care” how they get wins.

“Defense played tremendous,” Smith said. “At this point, we don’t care how we get wins. We just want to win games. I don’t care if it was 5-4. We got the dub. It was a hard fought game. Our defense was lights out.”

Seattle improves to 9-7 on the season and can clinch the NFC West with a bit of help. If the Los Angeles Rams lose on Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals and the Seahawks beat LA to close out the regular season, Seattle will win the division and book a ticket to the postseason.

The Bears have now lost 10 straight after starting the season 4-2 and fall to 0-4 under interim head coach Thomas Brown.

Chicago travels to Green Bay to take on the Packers to round out the regular season.