A 25-year-old man from Houston, Abdulrahman Oluwatumike Oriyomi, faces a felony charge after allegedly using a fake boarding pass to board a United Airlines flight at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on May 18. According to court documents, he has been charged with impairing or interrupting the operation of a critical infrastructure facility. Prosecutors indicated that the incident delayed the flight, which was carrying a full complement of passengers, for approximately three hours and involved responses from multiple agencies, including the Houston Police Department, the FBI, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The complaint states that Oriyomi passed through a TSA checkpoint and attempted to board a flight to Los Angeles. He initially failed to scan his boarding pass at one gate but later approached another gate where United employees were checking passes. Oriyomi allegedly waited for employees to be distracted before boarding United Flight 469.
A passenger reported that Oriyomi sat next to her before moving around the aircraft. The flight attendants were notified of a person in the restroom after the plane had begun taxiing. Upon investigation, it was determined that Oriyomi did not have an assigned seat, and further checks revealed that no authorized passenger was listed under his name.
Investigators found a boarding pass image on Oriyomi's phone that appeared fraudulent, lacking key information and a QR code. It was concluded that he could not have obtained a valid boarding pass without paying for a reservation. Prosecutors requested a $25,000 bond and several conditions, including surrendering travel documents and submitting to electronic monitoring. The case is currently pending in Harris County's 180th District Court.