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Cape Town - This US woman takes budget travel to a whole new level, especially in this security-conscious travel age.
Marilyn Hartman, 66 years old, looks like a sweet old lady, but she's a master stowaway. She managed to sneak herself onto a British Airways flight boarding at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and landing at Heathrow Airport in London on 15 January, and only got caught by British customs officials after she couldn't produce her passport. She was deported back to the US on 18 January.
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According to New York Times, she passed through multiple checkpoints and first tried to board a flight to Connecticut, but was stopped by a gate agent before boarding. Hartman stayed the night at the airport and then boarded a shuttle to the international terminal, where again she managed to board without the required boarding pass and passport.
She was charged with one felony count of theft and one misdemeanor for trespassing. On Saturday she was ordered to get psychiatric help and wear an ankle bracelet to monitor her movements until the case is concluded.
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This is however not the first time Hartman has been prosecuted for slipping airport security.
She's trespassed four times at the same airport before, and has been arrested in other states as well for trespassing. She has also been arrested for taking a flight without a ticket from San Jose in California to Los Angeles, and claims she's also taken a flight for free from Minnesota to Jacksonville.
In a 2015 interview with NBC 5, Hartman tells a bizarre story of how she wants to tell her story of being robbed out of an inheritance in court and the countless times she's taken a flight without paying.
It is emphasised however by officials that she is not a danger to anyone or herself.
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