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.