Airport officials at Ben Gurion located a 13-year-old boy on Thursday night who had previously drawn national attention after secretly boarding an El Al flight to New York last October without a ticket or passport. This time, he was identified before reaching the security screening areas.
The boy was noticed inside the terminal but outside the standard passenger flow. A deputy shift commander on duty observed behavior that raised suspicion and stopped him for questioning.
During the encounter, airport personnel confirmed the boy’s identity and determined that he was the same minor who had managed months earlier to fly abroad without authorization or identification.
Following this and other recent incidents, the Israel Airports Authority announced changes to security procedures at Ben Gurion Airport. Under the updated protocol, boarding passes will now be inspected earlier in the screening process rather than only near the departure gate.
The decision comes after another serious breach earlier this week, when an 18-year-old Israeli boarded an Austrian Airlines flight from Israel to Vienna without holding a valid ticket. The oversight was discovered only after the plane landed in Austria, and the passenger was returned to Israel.
Addressing that case, the Israel Airports Authority said, “A preliminary investigation of the incident revealed that the passenger underwent security screening but did not complete the border control procedure.”
Airport officials said an immediate review was carried out in coordination with the Population and Immigration Authority and the airline involved, and that the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
{Matzav.com}
