A Norwegian traveler boarded two flights at Munich airport, without a valid ticket for either plane, police said Tuesday.
While his deception was quickly discovered the first time around, he was able to try the same trick only a day later — and took off on a flight headed to Sweden.
What we know about the security scam
The 39-year-old managed to hoodwink security staff at Bavaria's biggest hub for the first time on August 4.
Although passengers would normally scan their boarding passes at an automatic gate, Germany's Bild newspaper reported that the sneaky Scandinavian stood near another traveler and squeezed through without one.
He also slipped past airline staff at the gate and boarded a plane headed for the northern German city of Hamburg.
The aircraft was fully booked and, because the man did not have a seat, his trickery was revealed.
While the would-be stowaway was handed over to police and charged, he was promptly released and returned to the airport a day later.
Using the same technique, he sneaked on board a flight to Stockholm that was not fully booked, police spokesman Sebastian Pinta said. This time, the plane took off with him on board.
It was not specified what airline was involved.
Shock find in Stockholm
When he arrived in the Swedish capital, the man quickly attracted the attention of airport staff because he wanted to fly back to Munich immediately.
The individual was arrested by Swedish police, who also found that he had a knife with a 10-centimeter blade on him. Despite this, Pinta said the man was deemed to have posed no threat.
Munich Airport spokesman Henner Euring said the circumstances of the breach were being clarified but that it would take some time.
"We are investigating how the passenger was able to bypass the automatic boarding pass check before the security check. The airline is also checking the boarding pass check at the boarding gates, where it is responsible for the check."
German police said the man was under investigation for unlawful entry and transport fraud. It was unclear if the man had been asked to show any form of identification at any point.