On all the flights I've taken in some years now, they bar-code scan the boarding passes. I thought that was to verify the boarding pass was for the current flight and to match passengers and checked baggage. Who knew it was just beeping when it recognized a bar code and not processing the code further!
Or did he just slip past the gate agent? That would work some of the time, I imagine.
And what happens in either case when somebody turns up with a genuine pass for the same seat?
If you read the article linked in post #13, it led me to surmise that Noibi created so much confusion during his security screening and boarding that some essentials were forgotten by employees. I think that may be part of his con, to present such a complex, chaotic situation that he slips through. No wonder he is grinning in the photo.
If he is not a terrorist, he’s a classic con.
Hmm. Maybe that's why some people say the TSA's mission is to make people feel safer rather than actually be safer.