Former flight attendant posed as pilot for hundreds of free trips on US airlines

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 75% complete by Associated PressJanuary 21, 2026 at 07:00 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Dallas Pokornik, a former Canadian flight attendant, was arrested in Panama and extradited to the US after being indicted on wire fraud charges in Hawaii. Pokornik is accused of posing as a pilot and flight attendant to obtain hundreds of free flights on US airlines. Between 2017 and 2019, he allegedly used fake employee identification from his former airline to access tickets reserved for airline employees on three other airlines based in Honolulu, Chicago, and Fort Worth, Texas. Prosecutors claim Pokornik even requested to sit in the cockpit jump seat, typically reserved for off-duty pilots. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Fort Worth 40% Honolulu 40% Chicago 40% Hawaii 50% United Airlines 50% Hawaiian Airlines 50% American Airlines 50% Air Canada 60% Panama 60% Toronto ×270% United States ×280% Dallas Pokornik ×390%

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Score: -0.10

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).