Holiday travel continues at SEA Airport after several head-scratching incidents

Travelers lined up at SEA Airport on Friday, bags packed and ready to board their flights. It was another busy day at the airport, but it came as some travelers learned about two incidents that happened just days before.

Police arrested a woman, who the airport said went through the TSA security checkpoint without a boarding pass, then spent the night in the airport and boarded a Delta flight to Hawaii on Christmas Eve. The woman was discovered on the plane before takeoff, according to airport spokesperson Perry Cooper. 

"What a breach of security," said Dan Moore, who was at the airport on Friday. "In a day and age when they’ve tried to ramp up security, it’s a pretty egregious example of falling short of the goal." 

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Police: Stowaway arrested after sneaking onto flight from Seattle to Hawaii

A suspect was arrested after allegedly stowing away on a flight from Seattle to Honolulu, Hawaii on Christmas Eve.

Delta Airlines sent FOX 13 this statement:

"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. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation." 

This incident came just two days after a woman climbed onto the wing of an Alaska Airlines plane. The female passenger became anxious, opened the emergency exit over the wing, then climbed out onto the wing of the plane, according to Cooper.

Alaska Airlines sent FOX 13 this statement:

"On Dec. 22, upon arrival from Milwaukee in Seattle, there was an incident on Alaska Airlines Flight 323 involving a disruptive guest. The matter was safely resolved. We are working with our crew and airport officials to gather more details about what may have transpired. We thank our employees for their swift response and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our guests." 

"If it was more of a breach that had some implication of damaging a plane like a bomb or something that wasn’t detected, a gun that wasn’t detected, then I’d be a lot more worried, the fact that it was a human, it doesn’t make it any better, it doesn’t excuse it, but it doesn’t change my opinion about flying," Moore said. 

The Port of Seattle Police are working with the airlines and TSA regarding this situation.

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