Will the lack of cheap flights be a headache for summer travelers?
Rising airfares could be the biggest headache for summer travelers due to oil prices and strong demand, and the threat of delays from the storm remains.
A man allegedly sneaked onto a United Airlines flight from Houston to Los Angeles with a fake boarding pass and forced the plane to return to the gate.
Surveillance camera footage shows Abdulrahman Oluwatumike Oriyomi, 25, boarding United Airlines Flight 469 from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on May 18 while “a United employee was distracted by other passengers,” according to a complaint filed June 1 in Harris County District Court in Texas.
Witnesses said Oriyomi tried to find a seat on the plane before hiding in the bathroom, according to the complaint. According to court documents, the passenger gave a false name when announcing his presence to flight attendants before takeoff. The plane’s crew then realized he was not on the flight manifest, and the plane returned to the gate.
United Airlines referred a request for comment to law enforcement, but a lawyer listed for Oriyomi did not immediately respond to a separate request for comment.
Before boarding the plane, footage showed Oriyomi speaking with a Transportation Security Administration official who “may have had difficulty obtaining a boarding pass,” but was allowed to go through security, according to the complaint. He first tried to board another flight to Los Angeles, but was denied after repeated unsuccessful attempts to scan his boarding pass.
“TSA can confirm that the individual presented a valid boarding pass at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on May 18, 2026,” the agency told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “The individual passed standard screening and was not in possession of any prohibited items.”
According to the complaint, Oriyomi gave Houston police his United confirmation number, but the airline’s customer service representative said the reservation was canceled because the payment had not been made. Authorities also determined that the QR code on his boarding pass was forged.
TSA did not immediately respond to additional questions about whether the boarding pass was the same one later shared with police.
“Officials from the Houston Police Department, FBI, and HAS were detained for over an hour and a half at this momentous event as Defendant Oriyomi intentionally and unauthorizedly entered the airport and airline under false pretenses,” the complaint states. United Flight 469 was also delayed by approximately three hours.
He was charged with obstructing or disrupting the operation of a critical infrastructure facility.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. Please contact us at ndiller@usatoday.com.
