A Houston man is facing felony charges after allegedly getting through airport security with a fake boarding pass and sneaking onto a flight to Los Angeles.
Abdulrahman Oriyomi is charged with impairing or interrupting operation of critical infrastructure facility after a flight was delayed for around three hours.
According to court documents seen by The Independent, surveillance footage from Bush Intercontinental Airport shows the suspect talking to TSA agents at a Terminal C checkpoint on May 18.
After speaking to a number of agents, his photo was taken and he was allowed through security. However he was turned away from boarding a 7:18 a.m. United Airlines flight to LA after his pass failed to scan at the gate, investigator say.
Per police, the 25-year-old stayed at the airport and managed to successfully board a different United flight to LA around two hours later.
According to the affidavit, footage shows Oriyomi pretending to show his boarding pass and then picking a time when United agents were distracted to slip past them and board.
The affidavit submitted by Officer D. Davila of the Houston Police Department states that a passenger told police the suspect initially sat next to her in the aisle seat, but got up to use the restroom.
The seat was then taken by its booked passenger, so when Oriyomi returned he went back to the bathroom. This is when the passenger alerted the flight attendants there appeared to be an additional passenger on the plane.
Oriyomi gave his name to the cabin crew as “Mr Lopez,” and asked to sit in the jump seat as the flight was full and there were no open seats, the affidavit said.
A cabin crew member told police he checked the flight records and found that there was no-one booked for the flight under that name.
Per the affidavit, the flight had to taxi back to the gate as a result of the disruption. The entire flight had to disembark and the plane was checked for explosives.
According to police, Oriyomi showed officers his ID and a flight booking number. However, United Airlines had cancelled his ticket as he had reportedly not paid for it. He was confronted by the FBI and, per the affidavit, started “causing a scene” before leaving the airport.
A warrant for his arrest was issued Monday.
Houston Airports told The Independent: “Houston Airports operates and maintains the facilities. All security screening measures are implemented by federal and local authorities.”
Then referred all other security questions to United Airlines and TSA, who were contacted for comment.
