Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit Free Press

A man who missed his flight at Detroit Metro Airport today apparently wasn't interested in rebooking.

Instead, he left the airport's North Terminal through an emergency exit and was arrested in an apparent attempt to reach the plane where it was parked outside.

"It appears a customer missed his flight and thought he could catch his plane by leaving the North Terminal," said Erica Donerson, an airport spokeswoman. "He managed to momentarily access the restricted ramp area through an emergency exit but was quickly apprehended and taken into custody."

Donerson said the man was outside with his back to the terminal wall but "didn't make it anywhere near the planes."

She said an alarm sounded and the man was spotted.

The man was charged with entering a restricted area and released, Donerson said, noting that she was told the man does not fly very often. She said she did not have information about the man's identity, age or city of residence or which flight he was trying to catch. The incident had been reported earlier today by WWJ-AM (950) as a security breach.

Donerson said the response to the incident, which happened about 9 a.m., points to the effectiveness of the airport's security.

"Airport operations were not affected at any time nor was anyone put at risk because of this incident," Donerson said. "The speed at which he was stopped and detained shows that our security procedures are effective."

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.