"Using a Fake Boarding Pass to Board the Plane"... Security Lapse Exposed at U.S. Airport

Boarded United Airlines Plane at Texas Airport
Caught Sneaking onto Aircraft While Employees Were Distracted

In the United States, a man was caught after boarding a United Airlines passenger airplane using a fake boarding pass.

According to CNN and other U.S. media outlets on the 7th (local time), Abdulrahman Oriyomi, 25, was indicted on charges of interfering with the operation of critical infrastructure facilities and was detained at Harris County Jail in Texas on June 5.

United Airlines passenger aircraft. Pixabay

He is accused of using a fake boarding pass to pass through security at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, at around 5:45 a.m. on May 18, and then secretly boarding a United Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles. Initially, Oriyomi failed to have his boarding pass scanned and was denied boarding. Footage captured at the time shows him speaking with a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer for several minutes due to an issue with his boarding pass. Afterward, Oriyomi was directed to another TSA checkpoint, where he was able to pass through security and enter the terminal.

About an hour later, he attempted to scan his boarding pass multiple times at Gate E16, where a Los Angeles-bound passenger airplane was departing, but the pass was not recognized. After a brief dispute with an employee, he was eventually turned away. However, less than two hours later, Oriyomi headed to the gate of another United Airlines flight to Los Angeles. There, he took advantage of the employees being distracted by other passengers and pretended to present a boarding pass, slipping onto the plane.

After successfully boarding, Oriyomi tried to sit in an empty aisle seat. A woman who was seated nearby later testified that Oriyomi seemed unsure whether it was his seat, then headed to the airplane restroom. Fifteen minutes later, he returned to see another passenger in the seat he had intended to occupy, and he went back to the restroom.

As the airplane began to move, a passenger informed the crew that someone was in the restroom. The crew knocked on the restroom door and told Oriyomi to return to his seat. A few minutes later, the crew found him in another restroom. When asked for his name, Oriyomi replied "Lopez" and even asked if he could sit in a jump seat on the airplane.

When the crew checked the passenger manifest and realized there was no one named Lopez on board, they informed the captain, who returned the airplane to the gate. After all passengers deplaned, a security search was conducted again, and as a result, the landing was delayed by about three hours.

Investigations revealed that Oriyomi had tried to purchase a boarding pass for a Los Angeles-bound flight, but his reservation was canceled because he did not pay the fare. The boarding pass on his mobile phone turned out to be a counterfeit without essential information such as a QR code. After deplaning, Oriyomi caused a disturbance by filming law enforcement officers and only left the airport after being warned that he would be sent to jail. Aviation security experts have pointed to this incident as a serious case of security failure.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.