A fear of becoming infected with the COVID-19 virus sometimes makes people take unusual measures for self-protection. Reportedly afraid to fly during the pandemic, a 36-year-old man managed to stay unnoticed at the secure part of an airport terminal in Chicago, the US, for a three-month-long period.
A resident of California had been living inside the secure part of the Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) from October 19, 2020, until January 16, 2021. A man explained to the authorities that he was afraid to fly home to California due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary resident of the Chicago airport was allegedly using a misplaced security pass to move along the secure part of the terminal and was asking passengers for food.
However, on January 16, 2021, after almost three-months of secretly-living at the airport area, the man was noticed by two United Airlines employees, reported local media. The truth came to the daylight after the man was asked to show his security pass. The authorities found out that he was using the security pass which belonged to an airport operations manager. The manager reported having lost their pass since October 26, 2020.
The illegal resident of the airport reportedly arrived at Terminal 2 of ORD on October 19, 202, and admitted that he found the security pass in Terminal 3. The man was arrested and charged “with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft“, reported the media.
For the illegal stay in the airport, the man could face a fine of up to $10,000.