In an extraordinary turn of events, a man was found living in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, undetected for three months, as he was too “scared to go home because of COVID.”
Aditya Singh, was arrested on Saturday morning local time and charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft, CNN reported.
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Prosecutors say that Singh flew into Chicago from Los Angeles on October 19, and has been living inside O’Hare’s security zone for close to three months.
Singh allegedly found and was using an airport ID badge belonging to an operations manager who had reported it missing on October 26, which may explain why he went undetected for so long.
COVID-19 protocols inside the airport made it mandatory that employees wear a face covering, likely making it easier for Singh to use the badge as his own.
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On Saturday, airline staff asked Singh to provide them with identification, and upon realizing the ID badge did not belong to him, they contacted the police.
Assistant State’s Attorney, Kathleen Hagerty, said Singh stayed at the airport because he was “scared to go home due to COVID,” and said that during his time at O’Hare, other passengers gave him food.
Cook County Judge, Susana Ortiz, reacted with apparent disbelief after the allegations were detailed in court.
“So if I understand you correctly, you’re telling me that an unauthorized, non-employee individual was allegedly living within a secure part of the O’Hare airport terminal from October 19, 2020, to January 16, 2021, and was not detected? I want to understand you correctly,” Ortiz was quoted as saying by Chicago Tribune.
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Singh’s bail is said to have been set at $1,000, with the condition that he does not re-enter O’Hare Airport, and he is due back in court on January 27.
O’Hare Airport is the busiest airport in the world for takeoffs and landings, with pre-pandemic passenger numbers of 84.6 million per year.
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