Dr. Adedeji Adeniyi sprinted through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to catch a United Airlines flight, only to reach a gate where the monitor still showed boarding but the agent told him it had closed, according to KING 5.
Surveillance video included in the station’s reporting showed him arriving at 10:43 p.m. on July 17, about two minutes before the reported boarding cutoff for his 11 p.m. flight. Adeniyi said the gate agent shut the door as soon as she saw him.
“I was definitely stressed,” Adeniyi said. “I probably looked a little bit crazy, but I just tried to make sure I got on my plane.”
He had a confirmed ticket and believes the flight may have been oversold, with his seat given to another passenger.
At the Gate
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A flight-disruption letter United provided to Adeniyi, which he shared with the station, stated that he was “unable to travel as originally scheduled due to operational disruptions beyond their control.” It did not specifically establish that his flight was oversold.
United’s published boarding guidance says boarding ends and aircraft doors close about 15 minutes before departure.
Overselling is legal, but federal regulations require airlines to seek volunteers before involuntarily denying boarding to passengers due to oversold flights.
The U.S. Department of Transportation says passengers bumped from oversold flights departing a U.S. airport may qualify for compensation if they have a confirmed reservation, check in and reach the gate on time, and the airline cannot get them to their destination within an hour of their original arrival time.
A Different Itinerary
Adeniyi contacted United, reached out to Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office and filed a claim with DOT. He said he received more than $2,000 in refunds, and United rebooked his round trip.
Both replacement flights had medical emergencies, and he stepped in to help passengers on each one.
The crew later sent him a letter thanking him for volunteering his time as a doctor. After he returned home, a passenger’s family member also sent a thank-you text.
“Maybe it was God’s plan to have me be onboard these planes so that I could help out,” he said, laughing.
At the time of KING 5’s report, Adeniyi said he was still awaiting a response to a discrimination complaint he had filed with DOT.