Virgin America security scare

reports on tonight's news of a pax on a VX flight last week who managed to get on a flight to LAX with a day old boarding pass and it wasnt noticed until a FA spotted he was sitting in a seat that was supposed to be empty !

the guy was questioned by the FBI and claimed he just was trying to get a freebie flight.

he was arrested yesterday trying it again !!

a security screener is being 'retrained'

Actually this is quite worrying.

How was it not picked up at the gate? VX scan the boarding passes when boarding.

On another note, how did he board a flight from the same flight the day before I.e. If he had a JFK to LAX boarding pass and flew the day before, how did he get back to JFK for the next day flight? Hmmmm

The LA Times reports it here. According to another report he had no less than 10 expired boarding passes - none in his name.

It makes my recent misdemenour look tame. I managed to fly on a VS flight all the way to LAX without one of those stupid pointless little stickers on the back of my passport. v(

I've often wondered what the point is of those little stickers. They're not bar-coded, so how do they help security?

I have not had a sticker for my last 4 trips to the US.
I check in online, print boarding pass, and take hand luggage only, so by-pass the desks. No one has said anything at the gate.

I've often wondered what the point is of those little stickers. They're not bar-coded, so how do they help security?

They really irritate me those pointless stickers ...

As to how did the man get onboard in LAX, how did he get through the TSA too?

On one of my VX flights from SFO to LAS, a guy sat in the row in front of me was in the wrong seat, as another passenger was arguing he had the same seat number.

When the CC came along to check their boarding slips, the guy already seated, should have apparently been on the New York flight, not Vegas. He quickly disembarked.

It a shame you can't teach old dogs new tricks. Security at U.S airports has been a sham for years. It wasn't until the terrible events of 9/11 that they decided to do anything about it.
From the previous posts it must still be a work in progress.
Must try harder.

Amazing.....

"a security screener is being re-trained..." - at McDonald's?:D

On one of my VX flights from SFO to LAS, a guy sat in the row in front of me was in the wrong seat, as another passenger was arguing he had the same seat number.

When the CC came along to check their boarding slips, the guy already seated, should have apparently been on the New York flight, not Vegas. He quickly disembarked.

I could understand this at LAX, where the VX gates are a scrum and close together, but not at SFO :0 .

I wonder does the Gate Agent simply key in the SEQ number/Seat Number when the barcode doesn't work and when the system says "PAX ALREADY BOARDED", the agent assumes it was keyed in successfully?

Though worryingly, 1) TSA agent can't read and that includes the date on the BP.

2) If the VX BP doesn't allow the BP to be ripped like VS/standard BP ones, where gate agent keeps a copy as does the PAX, VX would have no hard copies to count after the flight is boarded, to ensure they have the correct number of PAX onboard and that the number matches the total PAX checked in on the system.

If that is indeed to be the case, that's a lack of security. Cos, if it was determined that they had on extra BP that day and a gate agent goes through each boarding pass, they would have noticed someone boarded a flight with a day old BP, they would have paged for the PAX and he would have been escorted out before the flight left NY.

I saw the CBS news On SKY last night and the reporter said that the TSA wernt that concerned as the imposter had been screened and wasn't carrying a gnu or explosives etc but that it was still an issue for them.

Apparently the real pax had lost his BP on thecway and just reprinted one out at the airport and the imposter found the original one.

Does raise issues re counting pax onto the planethough and he was only found when a CC found him sat in a supposed empty seat.

[honey lamb]

I saw the CBS news On SKY last night and the reporter said that the TSA wernt that concerned as the imposter had been screened and wasn't carrying a gnu or explosives etc but that it was still an issue for them.

And did he have the gnu under the seat or in the overhead locker? )

I saw the CBS news On SKY last night and the reporter said that the TSA wernt that concerned as the imposter had been screened and wasn't carrying a gnu or explosives etc but that it was still an issue for them.

Apparently the real pax had lost his BP on thecway and just reprinted one out at the airport and the imposter found the original one.

Does raise issues re counting pax onto the planethough and he was only found when a CC found him sat in a supposed empty seat.

So it wasn't a day old boarding pass but a copy of a valid one for that day.

So it wasn't a day old boarding pass but a copy of a valid one for that day.

I'm not sure they know what happened. There is more than one story circulating, as the LA Times reports that:

"Airline spokeswoman Patricia Condon said internal reviews show that Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, 24, was allowed to get on the flight on Friday, June 24 using a boarding pass for a flight on a different date."

Surely its not possible for the press to get something wrong? ii)

[mitchja]

I've often wondered what the point is of those little stickers. They're not bar-coded, so how do they help security?

They are to show that your passport has been authenticated and is genuine. This check used to be outsourced to a security company but is now performed by check-in staff.

For every fake passport VS (and all other airlines) allow through the system, there's quite a substantial fine.

I've often wondered what the point is of those little stickers. They're not bar-coded, so how do they help security?

They are to show that your passport has been authenticated and is genuine. This check used to be outsourced to a security company but is now performed by check-in staff.

For every fake passport VS (and all other airlines) allow through the system, there's quite a substantial fine.

I always do (and have) ripped them straight off my lovely passport (even before checkin if done by a queue dragon) and never been questioned so I would say there is no point but to keep a jobs worth happy

And they leave a sticky mess as well. I periodically clear mine off, but my wife has loads on her passport. And a baggage receipt that a check in agent stuck on there as well.

And they leave a sticky mess as well. I periodically clear mine off, but my wife has loads on her passport. And a baggage receipt that a check in agent stuck on there as well.

I use WD40 to get the glue off. It works a treat y)