Traveling with your kids is such a stressful experience, especially when you're traveling by plane. Navigating the airport, keeping track of your luggage, keeping track of your kids, and making sure you get to the gate on time to catch your flight can make anyone's blood pressure spike.
One mom's family trip became a travel nightmare when she realized that a stranger was following her family through the airport. What's more, the person managed to get on the flight, even though he didn't have a ticket.
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The mom knew something was wrong.
Lauren Benton had concerns that something was off as soon as she and her family got out of the TSA security line at Washington Dulles Airport. She was traveling with her husband and their two kids, ages 9 and 6, back to their home in Georgia.
As they left the checkpoint, a man who had been close to them in line started to follow them toward their gate. Benton shared the story of the encounter with the stranger with USA Today.
The stranger didn't stop following them.
Benton shared that at one point, the stranger even followed her and her daughter into the bathroom.
"My heart sunk down into my stomach," Benton shared. "With our children we were trying to create the perception that they were safe at all times."
But then, the man followed them onto their Delta Air Lines flight even though they had early boarding. He even sat down in their row. Since her kids were becoming more anxious about the stranger's presence, Benton knew she had to take action. So she discreetly called over to a flight attendant to inform them of what was happening.
Thankfully, the stranger was removed from the plane.
After the crew was alerted, the man was escorted from the plane. It turned out that he didn't have a boarding pass for the flight Benton and her family were on — however, he had a boarding pass for another flight the same day.
Because the man didn't have a boarding pass for that flight, the entire flight had to be evacuated, and a security sweep had to be conducted. Benton explained that it took over an hour to do the sweep.
Delta released a statement about the incident to USA Today, saying "Delta has processes in place for gate agents and flight crews to verify that individuals onboard aircraft prior to departure are customers that are booked on that particular flight. Delta is reviewing the matter in question internally and has been in touch with airport authorities in conjunction with this review."
It's still hard to understand how such a thing happened.
"Individuals that belong on the plane should only have been allowed on the plane. I would like to know how this occurred," Benton told USA Today. "We live in this post 9/11 era and people think something like this is not possible and it’s completely possible."
TSA told Benton that it is investigating the incident, but since the stranger did have a valid ticket and ID, there wasn't a lapse in security. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates Dulles Airport, did acknowledge that the man had been escorted off the plane. There were no charges filed, and the man was able to get on his flight to his intended destination.
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Apparently, the man was working through mental health issues.
Authorities told the outlet that the man seemed to have been dealing with mental health issues.
"I have empathy toward the mental health crisis that we have in the United States, but I will not allow mental health to be used as an excuse for the [compromising] of my family’s safety," Benton admitted. She also said that she and her husband could have escalated things sooner, but they were trying to remain calm for their kids.
While Benton shared that she hopes this incident will make the powers that be put in more effort to stop it from happening again, she also offered some advice.
"Just don’t be complacent," she said. "Be prepared to speak out."
