Armed police removed a passenger from a UK-bound plane after she slipped past security without the right paperwork.
Cabin crew on the Norwegian airlines flight from Barcelona told passengers heading to Gatwick that police were boarding the aircraft to remove the woman before take-off.
The stowaway, a woman in her 40s and believed to be from eastern Europe, was discovered by other travellers after she flaunted multiple passports on board.
After a 90 minute delay, the 177 passengers reboarded the plane.
An airline spokesman said: "Norwegian can confirm that a passenger was removed from flight DY5164 from Barcelona to London on 19 September after boarding the aircraft without appropriate documentation.
"Police were advised and escorted the passenger off the aircraft. As a safety precaution, all passengers were offloaded and the aircraft was searched before departing as usual.
"Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and we would like to commend the Captain and crew for the professional manner in which they handled the situation in order for the service to continue to London."
