The cases of people who manage to climb the plane without having a ticket: Amsterdam and Barcelona among the destinations / how they succeed are multiplying
Photo with illustrative character. Source: Dreamstime.com
In Zurich airport, several cases have been discovered in which people without a ticket came aboard the planes, being detected only at the count. They slipped behind those who had a valid check-in code.
An investigation of the public television station SRF shows that the number of people bypassing the control of boarding cards from airports and arrive in the flight area without a ticket, according to Swissinfo.ch.
Zurich airport seems to be especially targeted by this phenomenon. According to the data analyzed by SRF, while only one such case was registered, in 2024 four were registered. Four cases were also this year, until May.
How did a woman go on a ticket on the plane
In June last year, a woman from Zurich airport managed to embark on a ticket without a ticket. She bypassed checking the boarding ticket “passing quickly by the counter when the airport employee took her eyes on checking the boarding books.” At the gate, the woman bypassed the control again and embarked on a plane to Amsterdam.
Given the high security measures at the airport, this seems scandalous, but it is recorded in a sanction notification obtained by SRF investigatively. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (Foca) condemned the woman to a final fine of 500 Swiss francs (a little more than 500 euros) for “unauthorized entry into the security area”.
During the police interrogation, the woman said she wanted to fly. But he didn't get to do that. Bettina Kunz, a spokesman for the press of the Zurich airport, said: “In this plane, people were counted for boarding, and if the count does not match the documents, a check is carried out to determine if there are too many passengers on board. This was the case here.”
Is not an isolated case
Despite his arrest, the Zurich woman tried again, a few weeks later, to get on a ticket without a ticket. This time, according to the sanction notice applied by the authorities, she wanted to visit some friends from Barcelona. The woman was behind a person with a valid boarding book and passed with her through the security control point.
A man who, according to the sanction notice, was under the influence of alcohol, did exactly the same thing: “He wanted to do an experiment and test if it is as easy to fly without a ticket as it is in the train trip.”
Zurich airport spokesman says that, although incidents of this kind are growing, they are easier to detect due to sensors and cameras at the airport.
Are the cases relevant to security?
For Zurich airport, cases are not relevant to its security, writes Swissinfo.ch, which explains that a distinction is made between boarding permits and security controls.
Checking the boarding cards takes place at the gate. Security checks, on the other hand, involve checking luggage and people in terms of security, and this can hardly be bypassed.
“Although some people traveled without a boarding book, they were subjected to security controls. These cases are still concerned, but they need to be viewed in perspective. Last year, almost 11 million local passengers flew from Zurich,” said the spokesman for the Zurich Airport press.
There are known cases abroad in which people were able to take off without a ticket, but not from Zurich, as far as it is known. Last year, for example, a man flew from Mondich to Sweden without a ticket, and a woman flew from New York to Paris.
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