A lady from Marquette Park, Illinois, found herself charged with trespass and banned from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport after trying to sneak on a Los Angeles bound American Airlines flight on Sunday. Ms Yaazmina Payton, 23, wasn’t trying to board to take advantage of American’s new free in-flight streaming of classic movies. Instead, Ms Payton wanted to get to LA to see Jay-Z.
The incident was reported in multiple US media outlets, including The Chicago Tribune. Ms Payton was charged with criminal trespassing after attempting to board the American Airlines flight without a ticket. The incident occurred around 08:00 on Sunday morning in Terminal 3 at O’Hare.
An eagle-eyed passenger waylays meeting with Jay-Z
It appears Ms Payton was trying to board AA117, the 08:10 departure to Los Angeles. Had she succeeded, Yaazmina Payton would have lucked out. A Boeing 777-200 operates that flight and it’s a way nicer aircraft to fly on than the A321s and Boeing 737s American Airlines generally operates on the route on a Sunday. The 777-200 has an expansive first class section. It’s not known whether Ms Payton was aiming for a seat up the front, or the more discreet economy class option.
According to reports, Ms Payton snuck through a gate near TSA security checkpoints while TSA officers were distracted. The would-be passenger then ducked under a rope at the gate where the flight was boarding. Alas for Ms Payton, a passenger saw her and told the gate agents, and meeting Jay-Z fell off the day’s agenda.
Airport police arrested Ms Payton after challenging her to produce a ticket or boarding documentation.
The second odd passenger incident for AA this month
It’s the second oddball incident American Airlines has had this month regarding passengers (or would-be passengers) in the wrong places.
Earlier this month, a passenger on a flight from Dallas to Miami caused a significant delay after she snuck up to first class and crawled under a television consul to hide behind an ottoman. This was all to drive traffic to her Youtube channel.
When the crew noticed her empty seat and began searching for her, along with the captain saying the plane would go back to the gate, the passenger re-appeared and attempted to go back to her assigned seat.
At this point, she is intercepted by crew. Back at the gate, the passenger kicked up a fuss while been taken off the flight. Also asked to leave is her mate in first class, who accommodated the stunt, and a third passenger who intervenes. Police become involved and forcibly remove people.
All in all, a great start to any flight. When arrested, Yaazmina Payton did not kick up a fuss. She even offered to show authorities how she breached the TSA checkpoint – which was nice of her.
We focus on unknown and high-risk passengers, says TSA
The TSA is investigating the incident, saying a final report could take up to 90 days. The TSA says approximately 50,000 transportation security officers typically screen over two million passengers a day, although terminals are quieter this year. They say the vast majority of people traveling pose little to no threat to aviation, and the focus is on higher risk and unknown passengers. However, the next time Ms Payton cruises through O’Hare, she might get more attention from the TSA than she did last weekend
But that won’t be for a while. Ms Payton got cut loose on Monday following a bail hearing. As part of her bail conditions, she is barred from going to O’Hare Airport.
It’s not known whether Jay-Z came to the party and posted Ms Payton’s $500 bail.
