Man with Knife Sneaks onto Two Lufthansa Flights Without Tickets

A Norwegian man was able to successfully board flights at Munich Airport in Germany for two consecutive days without a ticket. He was able to fly on one of the flights, which should cause the airport to rethink its security measures.

The Ten-Toe Discount

While his identity hasn't been disclosed, a 38-year-old Norwegian national managed to bypass security on the way to stealthily board two different Lufthansa airplanes.

His first act of trespassing happened on a Lufthansa flight to Hamburg. What he didn't expect, however, was that the plane would be booked full. The stowaway was later handed over to police, though was released shortly afterward.

The next day, he tried to board another flight in practically the same manner, on a flight from Munich to Stockholm (flight LH2418). Luckily for him, there were available seats this time and he managed to stay on the flight without any suspicion.

His luck ran out, however, when he wanted to fly back on the same plane. Attendants were able to detain him and confiscate a knife from his possession. Authorities flew him back to Germany where he's being charged for fare evasion and trespassing.
 

Explaining Munich Airport Security

Although the intruder hasn't given a public explanation as to how he managed to board the flights, experts have an idea of how it would be easy for him to get through without alarming any guards. At Munich Airport, boarding passes are scanned and gates automatically lift and close for each passenger. The theory is that the man walked closely and quietly behind somebody as they were scanning their pass to get through the gates.

As for a "why", police have an idea that the man simply enjoyed flying and intended to fly back to Munich as soon as he arrived in Stockholm. However, the fact that he was carrying a knife should certainly raise some red flags. According to a representative from the District Government of Upper Bavaria, the knife in the man's possession was a "permission-free item" that was in line with European Union regulations.

The head of the police union in Germany, Andreas Roßkopf, sent this statement to Bild regarding the two-day incident:

“I have never experienced this in my career as a civil servant. The airport must explain how this could have happened. Climate activists simply cut open fences, and now a passenger is flying through Europe without a ticket.”

It was very fortunate that the stowaway didn't have any bad intentions and trespassing was the worst thing that happened at Munich Airport. An investigation is currently underway, and hopefully, these security points can receive improved surveillance to prevent similar or potentially worse scenarios from occurring in the future.