Monday, June 8, 2026 - A 25-year-old Nigerian man was arrested and charged after he allegedly snuck onto a United Airlines flight using a fake boarding pass.
On Friday, June 5, 2026, Abdulrahman Oriyomi, 25, was
charged with felony impairing or interrupting the operation of a critical
infrastructure facility after he allegedly snuck onto a flight to Los Angeles
at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport last month.
According to to court records obtained by Click2Houston,
Oriyomi was “constantly staring at his phone and delaying speaking to a TSA
agent” while making his way through the airport's Terminal C security
checkpoint.
When he finally spoke to a TSA agent, he allegedly had
difficulty with his boarding pass before being escorted to another TSA booth to
have his picture taken.
Ultimately, he successfully got through security and was
left to walk freely around the airport before getting in line to board a flight
at gate E16, which was departing for Los Angeles around 7:15 a.m. local
time.
Court records allege that, upon unsuccessfully attempting to
scan a fake boarding pass, Oriyomi was turned away around 7:10 a.m. after
getting into an apparent disagreement with a United Airlines employee.
After spending the next hour “awkwardly” pacing around the
area, Oriyomi got into a boarding line for another flight heading toward Los
Angeles. This time, he was able to walk past the employees and proceed down the
jetway while gate agents were allegedly preoccupied with other passengers.
"I think this is a pretty significant breach, not just
because of the fact that he ended up on the plane; it's the multiple layers and
failures to even get on the plane,” Michael Matranga, a former Secret Service
agent, told KTRK.
“They're not paying attention to his diversionary tactics.
They're distracted, they're not situationally aware.”
At a very minimum, those agents who were directly involved
and probably that whole cadre of agents at the airport need to be retrained on
policy and consistency in policy," Matranga added
Once Oriyomi was onboard United flight 469, a woman seated
on the plane told investigators that Oriyomi “seemed unsure if the seat he was
in was his” as he sat down in the aisle seat next to her, per
Click2Houston.
When he stood up to use the restroom, another passenger had
taken the seat.
Since the flight was full, Oriyomi, whose reservation was
previously canceled by the airline due to lack of payment, went on to hide in
another bathroom at the back of the plane when a flight attendant knocked on
the door to advise him to return to his seat.
Eventually, after he allegedly asked to sit in the jump
seats and identified himself as “Mr. Lopez.” However, flight attendants
realized that there was no such passenger on their list.
Once the Houston Police Department was notified, everyone on
board the flight had to deplane and the aircraft was checked for any
explosives.
While Oriyomi was questioned the same day and given a
trespass warning, charges were not filed until June 1, according to KTRK.
Following an investigation, Oriyomi was arrested on Friday
morning.
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