Plane passenger boards two flights in two days without travel documents

The ticket dodger is now facing charges related to trespassing and fare evasion. Photo / Unsplash

A man, for reasons seemingly unknown, has been caught sneaking on to two flights without a ticket on two consecutive days.

On August 4, the 39-year-old passenger managed to bypass security at Munich Airport and board a plane bound for Hamburg.

Without a boarding card or travel documents, the passenger, believed to be Norwegian, evaded every boarding check.

German publication Bild reported the man was then able to access the plane by tailgating other passengers.

His devious plan was thwarted only when a crew member realised he didn’t have an allocated seat booked.

The police swooped in before take-off and the man was questioned by authorities, but then released.

Not one to give up easily and clearly adhering to the saying “if at first you don’t succeed”, the daredevil repeated the tactics the next day, this time on a Lufthansa flight heading to Stockholm.

The daredevil repeated the tactics the next day, on a Lufthansa flight heading to Stockholm. Photo / Unsplash

This time he didn’t fail.

Undetected by a host of ground staff and airport personnel, the serial risk-taker managed to board the plane without a ticket, snag an empty seat and fly more than 1200km to the Swedish capital of Stockholm.

Bizarrely, once in Stockholm, the ticket evader attempted to return immediately to Munich, something that aroused suspicion and led to his detainment.

With the ticket dodger now facing charges related to trespassing and fare evasion, an airport spokesperson told Business Insider “the airline is investigating how he passed the boarding pass check at the gate”.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa also spoke to Business Insider, citing that “the airline is aware of the case and in close contact with the authorities”.

Lufthansa explained further details are unavailable while the investigation is ongoing.

A police spokesman assured Business Insider they believed the passenger posed no danger.

As bold and far-fetched as it seems, stories of freeloading travellers tailgating their fellow passengers have hit headlines numerous times this year.

In February, a man travelling without a passport or boarding pass managed to get on a flight to Copenhagen from London’s Gatwick Airport by evading various airport checks. This came weeks after an incident at London Heathrow Airport when a British man flew to New York with no travel documents.

In both incidents, it’s believed the men tailgated unsuspecting passengers.

The security scares don’t stop there.

According to the New York Post, in February a woman successfully flew from Nashville to Los Angeles on an American Airlines plane without a boarding pass.

Though there’s something entertaining about these brazen acts of skulduggery, it does raise a more concerning question about the apparent ease with which the culprits breezed past security and bypassed every airport checkpoint.