Passengers Disturbed By Alleged Security Breach By Delta Employee At JFK
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Delta employee has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation after he was arrested for allegedly skipping security at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Police said Marcelino Aponte, 31, used his Secure Identification Display Area badge, or SIDA, to secretly sneak into the most secure areas of JFK.
He made it all the way onto his flight and to his destination in Orlando without proper ID or a boarding pass before he was caught, police said.
Aponte never passed through metal detectors and his baggage was never screened, authorities said.
It's unclear who alerted TSA officials to the apparent breach, but it took them anywhere from nine to 45 minutes to respond -- depending on whether you ask them or police -- and by the time they did, Aponte's plane was in the air and bound for Florida.
In a statement, the TSA said: "It appears this airline employee abused his airport privileges by using his SIDA badge to circumvent the checkpoint and board a personal flight."
Passengers said news of the alleged security breach is disturbing.
"I don't think it's a good thing. I think everybody should go through security," one passenger said.
"He should wait on line like everybody else," another passenger said.
A Delta representative said: "The employee has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. Safety and security is always Delta's top priority."
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