A Norweigan man successfully snuck through security and onboard two Lufthansa flights in Munich even though he had no ticket. Then he got greedy…
After Sneaking Onto Lufthansa Flight Without Ticket, Man Gets Greedy…And Gets Caught
As shared by One Mile At A Time, a 39-year-old Norwegian national decided to try his luck sneaking onto a Lufthansa flight…without a ticket. And frankly, he picked a pretty good airport to do it at.
Let’s start with that because it seems clear to me why he was able to enter the security checkpoint without a ticket and also board a flight without a ticket: automation.
Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss International Airport uses automated gates at its security checkpoints. You scan your boarding pass and the gate opens, giving you access to the security screening area. It’s easy enough to stand close behind someone and pass through before the gate closes…close monitoring would require far too much staffing, though I’d imagine CCTV cameras record everyone who passes through.
The gate areas, at least for Lufthansa regional flights, are the same. You line up and scan your boarding pass to board. Again, if a gate agent is not watching, you can fairly easily pass through close behind another traveler…it’s how my children tend to board…both come through when I go through (though I stop to scan their boarding passes to avoid being marked as a no-show).
So in that sense, I’m not overly concerned that he got on a flight…the process is straightforward and he underwent the same security screening everyone else did.
The first day he boarded a Lufthansa flight (LH2418) to Stockholm (ARN). But he got caught when the flight was full and there were no seats for him. Police met him at the gate, but released him.
The following day he did the same thing.
Only this time, the flight was not full and he was able to fly to Stockholm for free.
Frank Abignale III? Well, he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed because he decided to try his luck and get right back on the flight to Munich.
But it was the same crew and they noticed him…and reported him…and had him arrested. He will be charged with fare evasion and trespassing in Germany.
Concerningly, he was found with a knife on him with a 10-centimeter (~4-inch) blade. These are not allowed in carry-on bags, meaning they were likely missed by security screeners in Munich.
Munich Airport is investigating:
“It will take some time to clarify the incident. We are investigating how the passenger was able to bypass the automatic boarding pass check before the security check. The airline is also checking the boarding pass check at the boarding gates, where it is responsible for the check.”
Meanwhile, the head of the police union linked the incident to climate activists breaking onto airport premises.
“I have never experienced this in my career as a civil servant. The airport must explain how this could have happened. Climate activists simply cut open fences, and now a passenger is flying through Europe without a ticket.”
Both are concerning indeed. But on the other hand, how is it possible to fully protect a massive airport complex without unsustainable staffing costs?
These sorts of incidents, seem to me, to be the risks we take in order to have an efficient airport system with staffing levels that make financial sense. Again, he was subject to the same screening as everyone else. Thus, my concern here is only for the blade he was able to take onboard.
CONCLUSION
A man successfully snuck onboard a Lufthansa flight and flew from Munich to Stockholm. He would have made it had he not greedily tried to get back on the same aircraft with the same crew and fly back to Germany. This incident does raise reasonable questions about security at MUC, but in my mind, the only real incident is the knife he managed to bring onboard.
And to the 39-year-old: maybe you need to work for an airline and can pass ride all day long on your days off if that’s what you fancy.
My cheap bottle of water would never pass through this security. Now, a guy without a boarding pass and carrying a knife, no problem. It is all about priorities.
Brazen for sure. I can guarantee security is much more intense there now.
But there wasn’t a security breach. Nobody was in any sort of danger. Nobody, not even LH really, suffered here. This is a one-off quirk that probably isn’t worth too much concern from a security standpoint.
Security breach only in the sense that the knife was allowed through.
Everyone knows the much praised “German efficiency” is a thing of the past.
Speaking of Lufthansa, hope to see a review of their new lounge in Newark soon.
Somewhere, Ada Quonsett is smiling.