Nigerian man arrested for using fake boarding pass to sneak onto United Airlines flight in Houston

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.