A seven-year-old girl reportedly boarded an easyJet aircraft without a ticket after sneaking through security at a Swiss airport.
The runaway girl first eluded her parents at a railway station in Geneva before jumping onto a train heading to the nearby airport.
She managed to get onto the aircraft heading for Corsica, but was spotted by the crew before it departed.
Geneva airport spokesman Bernard Stampfli said the incident was “eminently regrettable” and security checks were being reviewed and enhanced, the Daily Telegraph reported.
“What this shows is that while controls for adults and accompanied children are effective, there are holes to fill when it comes to unaccompanied children.”
The girl repeatedly “took advantage of her small size” and employed a “ruse” to make it look like she was travelling with adults ahead or behind her, he added.
CCTV footage showed her initially trying to board an Air France flight before succeeding in getting past easyJet staff by pretending to be with another family.
EasyJet has launched an investigation after admitting “an unaccompanied child incorrectly boarded flight EZS1305 from Geneva to Ajaccio”.
“The crew correctly identified the child should not be on board and immediately reported it to the police,” the airline said.