A 36-year-old California man has been living in O’Hare International in Chicago for three months, according to prosecutors and the Chicago Tribune.
Aditya Singh, 36, is charged with trespassing on criminals to a restricted area of an airport and theft of misconduct.
According to police, Singh went to O’Hare on October 19 but was afraid to fly home due to the coronavirus.
“it shows how things can slip through the cracks,” said transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman. “You get an idea at the airport and it can take weeks without being detected. It’s really remarkable that it happened in this time and safety.”
On Saturday, two United Airlines employees approached Singh and asked for identification. He displayed a license plate, but it actually belongs to an operations manager who reported it missing on October 26. The employees then called 911.
“A lot of people are undoubtedly looking back and are embarrassed, gate agents, that this individual has probably seen,” Schwieterman said.
Singh said he was able to survive by getting food from other passengers.
“There’s no real risk to safety, that’s the good news,” Schwieterman added. “It just shows how different parts are not allowed to talk to each other, interrogate each other.”
The Department of Aviation in Chicago, which oversees the city’s airports, has released the following statement about the incident:
“CDA has no higher priority than the safety and security of our airports, which are maintained by a coordinated and multilayer law enforcement network. Although this incident is still under investigation, we were able to establish that this gentleman does not pose a security risk to the airport or to the traveling public. We will continue to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter with our law enforcement partners. ”