California: A California man who police said claimed to be too afraid to fly due to Covid-19 lived inside a secured area of O’Hare International Airport for three months until his arrest last week, prosecutors said. Aditya Singh, 36, is charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport. Singh arrived at O’Hare on a flight from Los Angeles on Oct. 19 and allegedly has lived in the airport’s security zone ever since, without detection.
Last week two United Airlines employees approached Singh and asked to see his identification. Assistant State’s Attorney Kathleen Hagerty said Singh showed them an airport ID badge that he was wearing around his neck. The badge actually belonged to an operations manager who had reported it missing Oct. 26. The employees called 911. Police took Singh into custody. Hagerty said Singh reportedly found the badge in the airport and was “scared to go home due to Covid.” She told the judge other passengers were giving him food.
Singh lives with roommates in Orange, Calif., southeast of Los Angeles, and does not have a criminal background, according to Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood. She said he has a master’s degree in hospitality and is unemployed. As a condition of bail, the judge barred Singh from stepping foot in the airport again if he is able to post the $1,000 he needs for his release. He is due back in court Jan. 27.
