Thursday 28 October 2021

Man cleared of tresspass for living in O’Hare Airport for 3 months

A man who lived in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport for three months has been cleared of trespassing charges. The man, Aditya Singh, remained airside after skipping a flight, allegedly due to fear of COVID, and relied on travelers to purchase food and essentials. 

According to The Chicago Tribune, a judge has found a man living in Chicago O’Hare Airport for three months not guilty of trespassing. The court found that Aditya Singh, 37, did not breach restricted airport areas without permission and, therefore, will not face punishment for felony criminal trespassing.

After coming to the United States nearly six years ago to complete a master’s degree program, Singh boarded a Chicago-bound flight from Los Angeles on Oct. 19, 2020, to begin his journey home to India. He never made it.

Prosecutors said Singh told authorities that the coronavirus pandemic left him too afraid to fly and so he instead remained in the airport, often relying on the kindness of strangers to buy him food.

Singh hid out in the airport’s secured terminal area with access to shops, food and public bathrooms until his Jan. 16 arrest after two United Airlines employees asked to see his identification. He showed them an airport ID badge that an operations manager had reported missing in late October 2020, prosecutors said. The news came after a TSA investigation came to a familiar finding about Singh’s extended stay at the airport. 

A TSA spokesperson said,
“Mr. Singh did not breach or improperly enter secured areas — he arrived there like tens of thousands of arriving passengers do every day, by stepping off a plane. While we won’t speculate on Mr. Singh’s motivations, he decided to remain in the secure area and made every effort to blend in as a passenger and airline employee until his arrest.”

However, Singh is not out of the woods just yet. On Friday, he will come before the court again over an escape charge related to electronic monitoring while he was out on bond earlier this year after his arrest. If this case is also dismissed, Singh might finally be able to take his 12 month-delayed flight back to India. 

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