"A former flight attendant accused of posing as a pilot and working airline employee fooled three U.S. carriers into giving him hundreds of free tickets over a span of four years, federal authorities say. But precisely how he is alleged to have done it - and why the airlines wouldn't have caught on sooner - has industry insiders scratching their heads."
"According to court documents, Pokornik was a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline from 2017 to 2019, then used fraudulent employee identification from that carrier to obtain tickets reserved for pilots and flight attendants on three other airlines. Court documents contained no explanation of why, in an industry focused on flight and airport safety, the airlines didn't recognize the credentials as invalid."
"The indictment did not identify any of the airlines involved but said the U.S. carriers are based in Honolulu, Chicago and Fort Worth, Texas. A spokesperson for Hawaiian Airlines said Wednesday the company does not comment on litigation. Representatives for United Airlines and American Airlines did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press."
A Toronto man allegedly impersonated a pilot and airline employee to obtain hundreds of free tickets from three U.S. carriers over four years. He reportedly worked as a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline from 2017 to 2019 and then used fraudulent employee identification from that carrier to secure crew-reserved tickets on other airlines. Federal authorities indicted him on wire fraud charges in Hawaii; he was arrested in Panama and extradited to the United States, where he pleaded not guilty. Court documents gave no explanation for why airlines failed to detect invalid credentials. Airline responses were limited or noncommittal.
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