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A stowaway passenger who was banned from flying with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines just got his ban extended until 2055 for trying to fly with the airline without a valid ticket and authorization. Due to the nature of the repeated offense, the airline imposed such a penalty on the passenger.
Despite the constantly evolving technology and security procedures, the number of stowaway incidents has been increasing considerably in recent times, all around the world. These incidents are not just an inconvenience for the airline and passengers, but also pose a major safety and security concern for flight operations.
Banned From Flying With KLM Until 2055
While details remain limited, according to PEOPLE, reports indicate that the perpetrator is a 40-year-old male, who has repeatedly violated rules and regulations by trying to board a KLM flight without a valid ticket and authorization. These incidents span five years into the past, during which time, he was banned from KLM for the most part. This is what happened.
Reports indicate that his first offense was in 2020, when the person physically attacked a member of the airport ground staff, which resulted in the airline issuing a ban lasting for five years. This was then followed by another incident in September 2025, when he reportedly tried to board a KLM flight to Curaçao. This resulted in the airline banning him for another five years.
This was then closely followed by another incident, in December 2025, which is what led the airline to increase the ban until December 2055, resulting in a 30-year ban from flying with KLM for this person. Furthermore, it is reported that the ban also extends to the airline’s low-cost subsidiary, Transavia. Simple Flying has reached out to KLM for more information.
An Increasing Number Of Incidents
The increasing number of stowaway incidents shines a light on the gaps that exist in today’s screening and security systems, despite being so technologically advanced. In many cases, due to redundancies and multiple checks, stowaways are found out early enough and stopped from flying illegally. However, in some instances, that is not the case, and unfortunately, because of the location within the aircraft (for example, hiding in wheel wells), it often ends in the loss of life of the stowaway.
But it is important to keep in mind that these are only the cases that are discovered and reported on the news, leaving the industry asking, how many stowaways are successful in getting away, never being found? Furthermore, based on the number of previously reported incidents, it appears that stowaway passengers are not localized to any particular region, but there are incidents reported all around the world.
For stowaways who are found, in the best scenario, they are charged with financial penalties or legal actions, such as the aforementioned airline ban, while the worst case scenario is that they could get seriously injured or even lose their life while attempting to travel in parts of the aircraft that are not safe to carry passengers. However, for airlines, airports, and other stakeholders involved, such actions from stowaways pose a significant safety and security risk to flight operations.
Stowaway Found Dead In American Airlines 777 Two Days After Landing
The stowaway was found in the aircraft’s landing gear two days after the plane landed.
Case Of A Repeated Offender In The US!
Rather surprisingly, the United States is not immune to stowaway passengers either, despite the additional security checks that are conducted across the country’s airports, especially for international flights. This is the case of Svetlana Dali, who has, since 2024, managed to stow herself within the aircraft cabins of a 
Delta Air Lines flight and, more recently, a 
United Airlines flight.
In both cases, she was only discovered once the aircraft had taken off from the US and was well on its way to Europe. The earlier incident occurred in 2024, when she was found to have boarded a Delta service from New York to Paris. The latter incident occurred as recently as last month, when she was caught hiding on a United service from Newark to Milan.
Furthermore, during the past two years, there were also two separate incidents in which she was caught within secure areas of airports, which are not accessible to the general public. These incidents indicate that there are still improvements to be made in technology and security procedures across the aviation industry.
