Prosecutors said Aditya Singh, 36, was too scared to fly back to Los Angeles because of COVID-19.
Cook County prosecutors said Singh was found with the misplaced papers of an airport worker and survived in a safe area of the airport.
According to prosecutors, Singh arrived on October 19 at O’Hare’s terminal 2 on a flight from Los Angeles.
He has reportedly remained inside the airport’s security zone ever since.
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On Saturday, two United Airlines employees confronted Singh and asked to see his work ID which had been reported stolen by an airport manager.
Singh was arrested and told authorities he had found the credentials and was afraid to fly home in the pandemic.
He is charged with trespassing on an airport in a restricted area and theft.
The judge expressed his shock that Singh had not been located earlier.
“While this incident is still being investigated, we were able to establish that this gentleman does not pose a security risk to the airport or the traveling public,” the Department of Aviation in Chicago said in a statement Monday morning. “We will continue to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter with our law enforcement partners.”
Singh’s defender made a request to let Singh fly home.
The judge denied this and set bail at $ 10,000.
The video in the media player above was used in a previous report.
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