The Serial Stowaway -- what's her deeper story?
Jan 31, 2018, 10:06 am
#16
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
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Posts: 6,284
Well, with Southwest's program it's all spend based, so she'd have no points there. But United she could get a PQD waiver from carrying the Chase UA Visa and maybe qualify for elite status based on PQMs awarded. Obviously UA is more stowaway friendly.
Feb 1, 2018, 1:58 pm
#18
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: south of WAS DC
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i do not understand how this person is able to frequently board airplanes. she goes thru security, time and time again. what is the difference between this old lady who is just there for the ride, and a little old lady with a bomb?
Feb 1, 2018, 8:34 pm
#19
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
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From all news reports she has only evaded people checking tickets. She has not evaded, or even tried to evade, security screening for dangerous possessions.
Feb 3, 2018, 10:38 am
#20
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I know there are exceptions to the "must have a boarding pass" rule for going through security but I was under the impression that those exceptions are few. I might need to research more on how exactly she's getting past TSA.
Feb 4, 2018, 9:58 pm
#21
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Not sure about her mental status, but at that age, I'm guessing she is doing it because she can, and she is old and thus doesn't really care about consequences or rules - and that is not a mental health issue, which can be confirmed by anyone who lives in a condo in South Florida.
Feb 5, 2018, 12:29 pm
#23
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
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Per various pieces of reporting about her actions, she is not fast-talking her way past the security staff who check boarding passes and IDs or attempting to present fake documents to them, she is simply slipping past them unnoticed while they are distracted with large groups and at busy times. Once past the ID checkpoint she goes through the rest of the security check normally, including bag x-ray and magnetometer/millimeter wave systems. The people operating those portions of the security checkpoint do not recheck travel documents (except at specific airports and/or at times of extreme threat precautions).
Feb 5, 2018, 1:56 pm
#24
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: London
Programs: US Gold
Posts: 627
She's in her 60s. That does not qualify as "old" these days, if it ever did. It's clear that she's highly practiced. Also, we have no idea what her miss rate is, because the press primarily reports her successes. I think she'd struggle to get through at Heathrow, where everyone has to pass individually through an automated gate with a coded boarding pass. It seems quite clear it's a mental health issue, from what I read.
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