Man sentenced after illegally bypassing TSA and boarding flight at PHL

(WPHL) — A man has been sentenced after he illegally bypassed airport security and illegally boarded a flight in June 2024.

According to United States Attorney David Metcalf, 32-year-old Jonathan “Jon” Beaulieu was sentenced to one year of probation and restitution in the amount of $59,143 for entering an airport area in violation of security requirements.

A security guard witness was working at the airport on June 26, 2024, at 12:12 a.m., assigned to the Terminal C exit lane to prevent unauthorized people from entering the airport’s “sterile area,” which is the terminals beyond the TSA security checkpoint.

During this time, Beaulieu approached the exit lane and stated that he had left his phone in the airport and needed to retrieve it.

The guard called police dispatch and told them that Beaulieu was trying to get into the airport to get his phone. After the dispatcher informed the guard that police couldn’t look for Beaulieu’s phone, he started to walk past the guard into the airport.

The guard repeatedly told Beaulieu that he could not enter the airport, which he ignored.

Beaulieu then dropped a $50 bill onto the guard’s desk and asked her if that would get him into the airport. The guard left the bill on the desk and reiterated that he could not enter the airport.

This is when the guard called police again and informed them that Beaulieu was attempting to go around her and into the airport.

After a few minutes of arguing, Beaulieu walked around the guard, entered the airport’s sterile area, and walked away.

The guard immediately contacted police and informed them of the security breach.

As police began searching the terminals, Beaulieu was spotted boarding a plane at Gate A-20.

When police arrived, they found that the plane doors were closed and the plane was preparing for departure.

The captain was immediately informed that a passenger aboard had bypassed security, and the plane returned to the gate.

All passengers were removed, and Beaulieu was located and arrested.

Due to the boarding of an unscreened passenger, the entire plane had to be searched, resulting in the flight’s cancellation. American Airlines reported that the cost of the flight cancellation was $59,143.