A traveler was able to get onto the tarmac at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and now Delta Air Lines, the Transportation Security Administration and the Atlanta Police Department are trying to figure out how.
Shannon Reynolds was trying to find a parking spot so she could catch her flight to Fort Lauderdale with Spirit Airlines. What she didn't know was that she pulled into a Delta employee parking lot, because no one seemed to stop her, CNN reports.
She was allowed to pass two security checkpoint and park in the restricted area. With her luggage in hand, she was able to board a Delta employee shuttle without having to show identification.
Since none of the employees were in uniform, she didn't realize it was for employees only, but it didn't take her long to realize she wasn't in the right place.
"When I got to the airport, I looked around and I realized this is not where I was supposed to be. It was the tarmac with a big airplane sitting there," Reynolds said.
She told the shuttle driver who allowed her to get off the bus and onto the tarmac. A ramp agent then helped take her up the stairs and into the terminal, but she didn't have to go through any special security.
"Here I was sitting in the middle of the C Terminal without having to go through security or do anything," Reynolds said.
She said the airport employee who let her into the area advised her to go downstairs and go through security. She was eventually asked for identification while inside the terminal.
However an investigation is being done to determine how Reynolds was able to make it so far without being checked. Even the ramp agent thought she was an employee because she would have had to pass several security checkpoints to get where she was.
"Airports are responsible for implementing security programs that restrict access to secure areas," said TSA spokesman David Castelveter in a statement according to CNN. "TSA is conducting an investigation to determine how an individual without proper credentials accessed the secure area of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport via an airline employee parking lot."
Delta is also looking into the incident and their security measures at their employee parking lots.
"We have taken aggressive action with our security vendors at the parking lot to emphasize that all security procedures, especially verification of credentials, are strictly adhered to," said Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant in a statement.
According to a police reports, Reynolds "was transported back to her vehicle and allowed to move her car" from the employee lot. Due to that, she missed her early morning flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she was going to connect for a flight to Costa Rica.
Reynolds was able to catch another flight to Costa Rica. She recently returned from her vacation.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
