In a now-viral TikTok, a man said he was locked in an airport hallway for two hours after missing his flight.
TikTok user Ayden (@ayden_1997) posted the video on March 6. In it, he said that he missed his WestJet flight to Las Vegas but wanted to make sure it had left the gate. When he confirmed the plane had left, the workers told him to exit through a hallway.
Ayden said that he got to the end of the hallway and realized the door was locked. He showed that the door in front of him wouldn’t open and explained that the door he entered from was also locked.
“I’m totally trapped. I tried every avenue of escape,” he said. “There was a lady on the other side of the door, and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m trapped. Can you let me out?’ And she was like, ‘No, I can’t.’ And she left.”
Ayden continued to say that he called the airport and U.S. customs but wasn’t let out until over two hours after being trapped in the hallway.
“They’re lucky I’m a really chill guy because some other people would be panicking right now,” he said in the clip.
At the end of the clip, Ayden said he planned to talk to WestJet about the situation.
@ayden_1997 Just a little video I made to pass the time while trapped in a hallway a few days ago. Makes for a funny story, and who doesnt love a good story!😂 #fyp #travel #airport #calgary #adventure #funny #weird #canada #america ♬ original sound – Ayden
The video has garnered over 3.6 million views as of March 8. In the comments section, viewers urged Ayden to make a bigger deal out of the situation.
“Act distraught get some compensation,” one user commented.
“You are the definition of self control bc the second someone saw me, came & left or teased me with an open door I would be screaming,” another wrote.
“Bruh…you need to sue that airport. Especially since multiple people refused to let you out. That’s false imprisonment,” a third suggested.
In an update video, Ayden said WestJet covered his hotel for the night before rebooking him. He also shared that the airline later messaged him on Instagram and gave him “50 WestJet bucks.”
@ayden_1997 Replying to @Sao.Jesus.71 alright, alright, here is an update. Nothing too crazy happened after I filmed my last video but here is the rest of the story 😂 #airport #canada #calgary #travel #adventure #hallway #silly ♬ original sound – Ayden
The Daily Dot reached out to WestJet via email.
Update 5:08pm CT March 8: Ayden elaborated on the situation in an Instagram direct message exchange with the Daily Dot.
“No I really didn’t get any context, after I called American border security a security guard just came and escorted me back through Canadian customs so maybe that was part of the reason,” he wrote. “I went through American customs in the airport so maybe that had something to do with it.”
He also explained that the employee who opened the door but wouldn’t let him out told him it was because doing so would be a “breach,” though he was unclear what that meant.
The TikToker concluded by saying he thinks the incident was “just an accident by one of the staff.”
