A woman bypassed multiple security checkpoints to board a Delta flight to Paris. This is what we know.

() – Investigators are trying to determine how a woman without a ticket passed through multiple security checkpoints this week at New York’s JFK International Airport and boarded a plane to Paris, apparently hiding in the plane’s bathroom during the flight.

The stowaway did not have a boarding pass, but completed a security check and bypassed two identity and boarding status verification stations to board a Delta plane, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Tuesday’s incident occurred on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Nearly 2.7 million passengers traveled on planes that day, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, according to TSA data.

This is what we know.

The stowaway was not carrying any prohibited items, according to a TSA spokesperson.

It is unclear how the person was able to bypass the boarding stations before boarding the plane.

Delta is working with law enforcement and conducting its own investigation, the airline said.

“Nothing is of greater importance than safety and security issues,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. “That is why Delta is conducting a thorough investigation into what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation and law enforcement stakeholders to that end.”

has reached out to the FBI and Customs and Border Protection for more information.

The stowaway is a woman between 55 and 60 years old and has a Russian passport, according to an airport official in Paris. She will soon be sent back to the United States, the official said.

The woman was in a waiting area at Charles de Gaulle airport, known as ZAPI, for people awaiting deportation, as she does not meet the conditions to enter Europe. The woman requested asylum in France a few years ago, the official told .

When asked, the source did not address the woman’s mental state.

When the woman is sent back to the US, the TSA could issue a civil penalty and authorities in New York could arrest her, although they are not currently involved, a federal official familiar with the investigation told . The TSA is conducting its own investigation into the incident, the official said.

New York City real estate broker Rob Jackson was on the Delta flight when the stowaway was discovered and told that passengers were told to remain seated after landing so police could board. the plane. “Actually, I didn’t see the person in question. Apparently, he hid in a bathroom in the back of the plane when we left JFK,” Jackson said. “The first announcement to passengers that there was a problem was when we parked at the gate and we were all instructed to remain seated because French police were boarding the plane to deal with ‘a serious security issue’.”

Jackson recorded a video in which the captain of the flight can be heard saying: “Guys, this is the captain, we’re just waiting for the police to come on board. “They can be here now and we have been told to keep everyone on the plane until we resolve the extra passenger on board.”

The flight was full and there were no extra seats for the stowaway, Jackson said.

“I heard the flight attendants talking about it with the pilots: They said this person was in a bathroom and then he would come out and walk to another bathroom and stay in there for a long time,” he said.

‘s Lex Harvey and Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.