A woman described as a serial stowaway has been arrested after allegedly flying to London without a ticket.

Marilyn Hartman, 66, managed to get through security at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport this week and board a flight to Heathrow.

Hartman had managed to get on the plane among a large group of passengers, according to NBC Chicago.

While she was on the flight, the airline - British Airways - realised she did not have a ticket. Police said she also did not have a passport.

She was detained at Heathrow Airport after her arrival on 15 January and sent back to Chicago, where she arrived on 18 January, Chicago Police said.


She has been charged with felony theft and a misdemeanour count of criminal trespass, according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

The Chicago Department of Aviation said no passengers had been put at risk.

Hartman has tried to get on planes without a ticket several times.

In 2016, she was sentenced in Chicago to six months of house arrest and placed on two years of mental health probation.