Man Passes Through Airport Security With Woman's Stolen Boarding Pass

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Authorities say a man with a stolen boarding pass got through airport security in Salt Lake City and checked into a flight at the gate before he was caught earlier this month.

Image source: KSL-TV

The Deseret News in Salt Lake City reported Thursday that 61-year-old Michael Salata was arrested shortly after checking into a Southwest Airlines flight to Oakland, California, on Nov. 5.

Salt Lake Airport Police Chief Craig Vargo says Salata grabbed the boarding pass accidently left on a kiosk and used it to get through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.

Police say Salata wasn't caught until the woman who had left the pass also checked in using a replacement ticket uploaded on her phone.

TSA spokeswoman Lori Dankers says that aside from the identification mistake, Salata was properly screened.

Southwest says its employees followed protocol.

No lawyer was listed for Salata Thursday.