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Or sign-in if you have an account.Air Canada plane takes off at Pearson International Airport. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty ImagesA former Toronto flight attendant has pleaded guilty to posing as a pilot to take hundreds of free flights on U.S. airlines.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorDallas Pokornik, 34, entered the plea Thursday in federal court in Honolulu, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii said in a news release Friday. He is to be sentenced Dec. 8 and faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to US$250,000 and a term of supervised release.Pokornik used a fictitious employee identification card to obtain the flights between January 2020 and Oct. 28, 2024, the office said. He also posed as a flight attendant, though he was not working as one at the time, according to court documents obtained by the National Post.Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againA plea agreement seen by CBC News says the badge was “false and fictitious” and claimed he was still employed by the Canadian airline. He used it to obtain “travel benefits, including airline tickets that are reserved for pilots” from three companies the document identifies only as airlines 1, 2 and 3.Pokornik worked as a flight attendant at a Toronto-based airline from July 2017 to October 2019, according to court documents. He was never a pilot and did not have an airman’s certificate, according to the indictment.That airline has not been named in the indictment or by prosecutors in the nearly seven months since the case became public.Air Canada and Flair told the National Post in January that Pokornik had not been employed by them. Porter Airlines, which is headquartered in Toronto, and WestJet, based in Calgary, did not respond at the time. Porter said in an email Monday it was “unable to verify any details related to this story.”Porter Airlines and Sunwing Airlines were both headquartered in Toronto during the period Pokornik worked as a flight attendant. Sunwing flew its last flight in May 2025 and was integrated into WestJet.Pokornik also requested a jump seat in the cockpit, an extra seat normally used by off-duty pilots, prosecutors said when the indictment was announced. The U.S. attorney’s office told the National Post in January there is no information indicating whether he ever used it.The scheme ended after an employee of one of the U.S. airlines photographed the forged badge and the image was passed to Pokornik’s former employer, CBC reported. That carrier confirmed the badge was fake “because, among other things, it listed an expiration date in the year 2027,” according to the plea agreement.Pokornik agreed as part of the plea to pay restitution to three U.S.-based victim airlines, the office said. One of them is in Hawaii, according to CBC.“Travel security protocols help keep our citizens and visitors safe, and anyone who breaches those protocols should expect to be brought to justice,” U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson said in the release.Pokornik was indicted Oct. 2, 2025, arrested in Panama and extradited to the United States in January. He pleaded not guilty that month.A jury trial had been set for March 17. That trial did not happen and the reason has not been made public.Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.