Marilyn Jean Hartman, 62, was arrested at a food court in the airport's International Terminal around 9 a.m. Tuesday on suspicion of violating a court order and trespassing, according to Deputy Rebecca Rosenblatt.
Hartman had previously tried to get on planes bound for Hawaii on three separate occasions, on Feb. 15, 18 and 20, according to San Mateo County prosecutors.
The first time she made it through security and onto an airplane, but was caught when the actual seat holder arrived.
The second time she was caught at the security gate and told to leave the airport when she could not get through.
The final time she was found with a discarded boarding pass and was arrested. The previous times she had been warned and told to leave the airport.
Hartman pleaded no contest on Feb. 27 to two counts of misdemeanor commercial burglary and was placed on 18 months' probation with eight days credit for time served. She was ordered to stay away from SFO unless she had a ticket to fly.
It did not appear that Hartman had tried to board a plane or gain access to a security checkpoint in Tuesday morning's incident, Rosenblatt said. She did not have a boarding pass in her name or the money to purchase a ticket.
Police say she is not a safety threat, but Hartman's actions exposed a security weakness at SFO. Airline passengers were surprised to hear that she has been sneaking past the TSA checkpoint.
"That's kind of hard to believe with how much they make you go through to get through security here," said airline passenger Wayne Goodrau.
The TSA says she simply slipped under the stanchion and bypassed both security guards including the TSA agent who checks your boarding pass and your ID card. They also said Hartman lives in a homeless shelter in San Francisco and she told them she has cancer and wants to go someplace where it's warm. Prosecutors said last month that they did not know if that information was correct.
"It might not be the woman who wants to go to Hawaii next time. It might be someone who wants to cause some trouble," said airline passenger Janet Morse.
The TSA has since put up barriers at the checkpoint to keep people from sneaking under the stanchion. Meanwhile, Hartman remains in jail on $7,500 bail.
ABC7 News contributed to this report.
