'SNEAKS' ON A PLANE

So, within the past two months, I've done a lot of traveling around the U.S. and on all of these trips, I've had to fly. Let me tell you that from my experiences, the TSA was extremely thorough. They were so thorough that they even checked my fiancée, Laila's shoes. Yes, it was a bit of a pain in the ass, but it made us feel safe to be on a plane at those airports. That being said, how the hell does this happen? A 9-year-old boy snuck past airport security and boarded a flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas without even showing a boarding pass to an airport official. Can you believe it?

Despite several layers of security and fear of global threats to the nation's airports, the unaccompanied child made it through the entire security screening process, which also needs a boarding pass to be shown by the way, without a hitch. I am still blown away that this could even happen. It wasn't until Delta flight 1651 was making its landing that flight attendants grew suspicious of the child and alerted authorities on the ground. Officers with the Las Vegas Police Department greeted the boy and placed him in custody with child protective services. Additional details about the boy and the lapse in security were referred to the TSA, who didn't answer any questions, but claimed that the incident was currently under investigation. 

Based on surveillance footage, at 10:37 a.m. Thursday morning, the boy arrived at the airport alone on a southbound light-rail car.  He was screened at Terminal 1 and granted access to its nine airlines even though; he never produced a required ticket. According to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport spokesman, Patrick Hogan, identification for child passengers is not a requirement. So, does that mean you just let any child go through? At one point, the 9-year-old is believed to have lumped himself in with another family traveling to mask his passage onto one of the aircrafts. This kid was no dummy. He knew what he was doing.

Police from Minneapolis believe the boy to be a runaway. Security footage shows the boy's solo adventures to the airport may not have been his first. According to Hogan, they have footage of the boy at the airport the day before the incident as well. Apparently, footage shows the boy dining at an airport restaurant in a pre-screening area while carrying an item of luggage that obviously didn't belong to him. Yes, he stole a piece of luggage off one of the baggage claim carousels and carried it to a restaurant, where he ordered lunch and asked his server to watch his suitcase while he used the restroom, which the server obliged, but instead of returning to collect the suitcase and pay his bill, the boy disappeared. 

A missing child report was never filed on the boy at any time within the last week. Minneapolis police say that they were only made aware of the boy's situation following contact by the Las Vegas police department after his arrival. It is sad to know that this boy's parents could care less about him. That's providing they're still even around. My real concern here is with the TSA. How can they allow this to happen? If a 9-year-old boy can slip by them, what else is slipping by them? This isn't the first case of TSA mishaps either. Like I said, I've had no recent mishaps with them, but it doesn't mean that mishaps don't happen. Many of you also know that going through security can be pretty hectic and stressful, but this little boy walked right through as if the TSA weren't even there, and THAT scares me.