A pro‑Trump passenger bragged online that he was going to be flying first class, claiming he could afford it “because of Trump / Trump made America great again.” He posted an image of his boarding pass. He was apparently flying to Greenville–Spartanburg airport in South Carolina.
You know how this ended. In a divided America, the world saw his record locator and name and accessed the reservation. “Someone had canceled his flight.”
Mr.MAGA here decided he wanted to brag & show off that he was flying first class all because of Trump & how he’s made America Great again. He then posted a picture of his Boarding pass online & when he got to the airport someone had canceled his flight! Seriously how stupid! pic.twitter.com/GwTeL1X9YE
— Suzie rizzio (@Suzierizzo1) December 14, 2025
Many airlines “Manage My Booking” flows are authenticated with just confirmation number and last name. If someone posts a boarding pass, the world has both and can cancel or change the itinerary.
In 2011, someone called American Airlines and changed one of blogger Ben Schlappig’s trips from business class from Tampa to Paris to a coach ticket from Raleigh to Los Angeles. The bad actor figured he’d show up at the airport, out of luck.
He got the ticket fixed, shared it wasn’t the first time someone did this to him, and that nearly 15 year old story is why I don’t post specifics of my itineraries in advance.
Meanwhile, here’s a woman who posted her Qantas booking details on TikTok flying from Cairns to Singapore. Someone used the details to cancel the booking. Qantas emailed her the cancellation and she got an $800 AUD refund against a $1,200 AUD fare, keeping the $400 AUD cancellation fee. After the “this wasn’t me” drama, Qantas agreed to refund the fee too.
Some airlines and booking management flows require additional verification, like a traveler’s date of birth. But there’s a tradeoff between security and ease for passengers, and air travel is frustrating as it is. It’s rare for people to mess with the bookings of others. Greater security controls wouldn’t help most people! But when you’re taunting the internet, and invoking Trump’s name, the odds go up significantly.
