The man, who has not been named, was exhausted after working two jobs, and fell asleep on the flight unseen by his colleagues. They locked him in the plane, which began the flight to Lubbock at 3:46am Friday.
The employee later woke up mid-flight en route to Texas and knocked on the cabin door of the unsuspecting pilots.
After waking up he was no doubt startled to find himself airborne – though maybe not as startled as the pilots, who heard him knocking on the plane’s cargo door.
Plane staff were unable to open the door for the stowaway, but the employee was instructed through internal phone how to use the ‘jump seat’ in the cargo hold during landing.
The employee was questioned by police and airport personnel, but was released and will not face any criminal charges.
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.