The hug that stopped the planes

AP

ALL APOLOGIES: Haisong Jiang appears in Newark Municipal Court on a charge of defiant trespassing.

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A graduate student from China who slipped under a rope barrier at new Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport to say goodbye to his girlfriend, prompting a security breach and leading to worldwide flight delays, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge and apologised publicly for the first time.

"I want to deeply apologise to those (affected) for my breach," Haisong Jiang said outside of court. "I just wanted to spend more time with my girlfriend. I made a big mistake, and I also learned a big lesson."

Jiang, a doctoral student in a joint molecular biosciences program at Rutgers University, admitted to a municipal judge that he passed under a rope and entered a restricted area at the airport Jan. 3 to spend more time with his girlfriend. She was leaving for California and visiting him in New Jersey.

As part of a plea agreement for the defiant trespassing charge, Jiang agreed to pay a US$500 (NZ$711) fine, plus additional court costs, and perform 100 hours of community service.

Outside of court, Jiang spoke quietly in halting English, addressing his apology to airport personnel, Transportation Security Administration officials and passengers affected by the delays.

His attorney, Eric Bruce, said the misdemeanour charge would not affect Jiang's immigration status, and he would remain at Rutgers on a student visa.

Jiang was arrested January 8, days after authorities identified him from airport surveillance video that showed a man stepping under a security rope and entering a restricted area of the airport.

The breach led TSA to shut down one of the airport's three terminals for six hours, stranding thousands of passengers and contributing to long delays. About 200 flights worldwide were delayed or canceled because of the security breach. Airlines estimate they lost millions of dollars as the terminal was emptied and passengers were rescreened.

- AP