A California man was found living in a secure section of Chicago O’Hare airport over the weekend. He claimed he was too afraid to fly due to coronavirus and lived in the airport since October.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Aditya Singh, 36, was arrested over the weekend and charged with criminal trespass to a restricted airport area, a felony. He was additionally charged with theft, a misdemeanor.
During Singh’s bond hearing on Sunday, prosecutors said that he arrived at the airport on October 19 and lived there until being discovered on Saturday. He was approached by two United Airlines employees who asked to see identification. He showed a badge that had been reported lost on October 26 by an operations manager. The employees called 911, and Singh was arrested.
Singh lives in Orange, California, with roommates and has no criminal background. He has a master’s degree in hospitality but is currently unemployed.
Judge Susana Ortiz, who presided over the hearing, expressed disbelief over the unusual situation’s details.
“So if I understand you correctly,” Ortiz said, “you’re telling me that an unauthorized, nonemployee 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.”
Singh’s bail was set at $1,000, and as a condition of his bail, he is banned from the airport.
