Blundering TSA workers allegedly let a JFK Airport worker who didn’t have a boarding pass get on a jet to Florida without being screened, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
Marcelino Aponte, 31, of The Bronx, had a reservation on Delta Flight 2159 from JFK to Orlando Wednesday night.
But he had no boarding pass and no proper ID, and federal TSA screeners turned him away at a security barrier.
So Aponte, a Delta employee, allegedly used his work ID to make his way to the jet via the airport’s secure areas, sources said.
A security guard and another witness allegedly saw Aponte try to pass through a secure doorway in Delta’s Terminal 2. Moments later, a TSA agent allegedly watched as he tried to clear another door by swiping his work ID and entering a PIN.
Agents lost track of Aponte, and TSA officials allegedly waited until 45 minutes after the breach to call Port Authority cops.
Police were alerted at 7:20 p.m. — 18 minutes before Aponte’s flight was scheduled to take off.
It wasn’t enough time. The jet took off with Aponte in Seat 3B.
Aponte never cleared airport metal detectors, and his hand baggage was never searched, said the sources.
He is expected to be charged in Brooklyn federal court.
A TSA spokeswoman told The Post, “It appears [the Delta] employee abused his airport privileges by using his [Security Identification Display Area] badge to circumvent the checkpoint and board a personal flight.” said
The spokeswoman disputed The Port Authority’s claim of an extended delay, adding that the TSA was notified within nine minutes of the incident being discovered.