Exploiting Free Boarding System by Entering Fake IDs and Hire Dates
Charged with Wire Fraud and Unlawful Entry into Secure Area
A U.S. man who exploited aviation security loopholes by impersonating a crew member and taking more than 120 free flights over a six-year period has been found guilty.
According to the Washington Post on June 15, a federal jury at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently found Tyrone Alexander, 35, guilty on a total of five counts, including four counts of wire fraud and one count of unlawful entry into a secure area using false identification.
He was convicted of entering false information into the crew-only online boarding systems of seven airlines from 2018 through last year, making more than 120 fraudulent reservations and traveling without paying for tickets. Alexander exploited vulnerabilities in the "non-revenue" boarding system, which allows free travel for crew members and pilots.
He forged crew ID badge numbers and hire dates to access internal airline systems. The airlines he targeted included Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier, and Spirit Airlines. It was found that he used a fake identity to board Spirit Airlines flights 34 times.
The scheme was uncovered in 2023 when the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) detected suspicious boarding patterns. Real names and dates of birth are required to obtain boarding passes, and this information was accumulated in airline records. The TSA then began monitoring Alexander, and he was arrested in February last year at San Francisco International Airport. At the time of his arrest, Alexander was impersonating a Spirit Airlines crew member and was about to board a flight from San Francisco to Australia.
Court documents show that Alexander had previously worked as an actual crew member for two airlines and was most recently employed at the American Airlines customer service center, but is now reportedly on unpaid suspension. In 2022, he applied to the Alaska Airlines pilot academy, and last year, he also applied for crew positions at Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines.
For each of the four wire fraud charges, Alexander faces up to 20 years in prison, and for the one count of airport intrusion, up to 10 years. He could also be fined up to $250,000 per charge, totaling $1.25 million. Sentencing is scheduled for August 25.
The TSA commented on the case, calling it "a representative example demonstrating the need to strengthen aviation security," and stated that it would work with airlines to develop enhanced security plans.
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