In an effort to avoid flight delay headaches, a Texas man allegedly got on a plane with just a photo of a ticket that belonged to someone else.
After his Southwest flight home was full earlier this week, causing Wicliff Yves Fleurizard to be rebooked, he seemed to move over to the Delta Airlines area of the Salt Lake City International Airport, NBC reports. According to camera footage, Fleurizard can reportedly be seen taking photos of other passengers phones and boarding passes while they weren’t looking.
Ultimately, NBC reported, Fleurizard was able to board a flight using a photo on his phone and an ID matching the name on the ticket. Once on board, he reportedly spent a significant amount of time in the bathroom until a flight attendant noticed all the seats were full as Fleurizard, now in the aisle, stood out. The plane, which was still taxiing, was brought back to the gate where the passenger was met with law enforcement.
A minor passenger traveling alone also had a hiccup when scanning her boarding pass, NBC reported, when it showed she was already meant to be on board. Surveillance footage, the publication continued, apparently shows Fleurizard snapping a picture of her phone too.
Fleurizard told authorities that “he had made a mistake and was only trying to get home,” NBC said a complaint regarding the incident reads. Fleurizard said he wanted to get home because family was visiting. Further, NBC reports he was initially meant given a buddy pass for a flight on March 16 that was booked, so he was rebooked to March 17 when that second trip was also full and he was rebooked again. He now faces a charge of “stowing away on a vessel or aircraft, according to a complaint filed in U.S. district court in Utah on Monday,” CNN reported, and is being held at Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a federal detainer.
“Delta is cooperating with law enforcement and relevant federal agencies regarding an investigation into a non-ticketed individual being escorted off an aircraft in Salt Lake City prior to a scheduled departure,” Delta Air Lines spokesperson Morgan Durrant told CNN in a statement. “We defer any additional questions to law enforcement.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.