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*The two brothers who somehow got away with boarding a Tokyo-bound flight in Los Angeles with only one ticket between them — forcing the flight to turn around and prompting a tweetstorm from supermodel Chrissy Teigen – may be charged with a crime.
Also, all passengers aboard the “flight to nowhere” were given 30,000 yen for their troubles, TMZ reported. That amounts to $265.80 in American currency.
The siblings reportedly cleared security at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday with legit tickets, but were booked on separate flights to Tokyo, via two different airlines. One had a United Airlines ticket while the other was ticketed for All Nippon Airways. The unidentified brothers both boarded the Nippon flight by using a duplicate boarding pass, authorities believe.
It took the crew about four hours to figure out they had been duped and opted a return trip to LAX. Authorities grilled them upon landing but then released them and did not immediately file charges — but that could change.
FBI agents told ABC News that the investigation is ongoing. If the feds determine there was intent to board the incorrect flight, one of the brothers could be accused of being a stowaway, a federal offense punishable up to five years behind bars.
Teigen, who happened to be on the flight with her husband, John Legend, live-tweeted to her 9.2 million followers about her “flight to nowhere” and chronicled the whole ordeal.
“[A] flying first for me: 4 hours into an 11 hour flight and we are turning around because we have a passenger who isn’t supposed to be on this plane. Why…why do we all gotta go back, I do not know,” she wrote.
“Lmao after all this I will have spent 8 hours on a flight to nowhere. Like we were all just havin a great time up here flyin in the sky watching gran torino time to go home now,” she added.
She later slammed the airline’s decision to turn around.
“Why did we all get punished for this one person’s mistake? Why not just land in Tokyo and send the other person back? How is this the better idea, you ask? We all have the same questions,” Teigen tweeted.
Teigen and Legend eventually made it to Japan — and she took to Twitter to explain why she didn’t travel privately.
“A lot of people have been asking this and I would just like you all to know that a round trip international private flight is like…300,000 dollars,” she tweeted.
Meanwhile, the airline could face a stiff fine from US Customs and Border Protection for letting the passenger board without a legit ticket and not taking an accurate headcount.
ANA addressed the incident via Twitter. “We apologize to all of our passengers on Flight 175; we failed to deliver the customer service we strive for. Thank you all for your comments and allowing us to connect, learn and serve you better. We welcome ongoing feedback to understand how we can work to make this right,” they wrote.
