Frontier Denied Boarding to Family of 5 at LAX — Gate Door Closed While Father Deleted Video, Family Says

A family of five says a routine boarding-pass issue at Los Angeles International Airport escalated into a denied-boarding incident that cost them about $2,000 — and left them asking how a family that says it followed every instruction ended up being labeled "not cooperating."

The family was traveling from Los Angeles (LAX) to Seattle (SEA) on Frontier Flight F9 1177 on April 14, 2026, with two parents and three young children: two 5-year-old boys and one 3-year-old girl.

According to the family, the incident involved two Frontier employees the family identified as gate agent Stephanie and supervisor Leslie.

The family's account is supported, they say, by boarding records, photographs, videos, complaint records and other documentation from the day.

It started with five boarding passes

The mother, Jiajia Cui, said the family had already checked in through the Frontier mobile app and had all five boarding passes on her phone.

At the gate, she scanned the boarding passes one at a time.

She says she heard five confirmation beeps.

But according to the mother, gate agent Stephanie told her that only three boarding passes had been scanned.

The mother says she immediately handed over her phone and asked Stephanie to rescan the missing passes.

"I don't know which ones I missed. Can you scan for me?"

According to the mother, instead of simply resolving the discrepancy, the conversation turned into a disagreement about whether there had been three beeps or five.

The father, who was behind his wife holding their young daughter, says he also heard five.

The mother says neither parent was refusing to follow instructions. They were trying to understand which boarding passes needed to be scanned.

Then the family was told to step aside

According to the family, Stephanie became upset and repeatedly said they were "blocking the line."

The family says they immediately complied and moved away from the boarding line.

They waited for a supervisor.

That supervisor was identified by the family as Leslie.

The father says he tried to explain the situation and asked a simple question:

What do we need to do to board our flight?

According to the family, however, the conversation quickly shifted away from the boarding passes and toward accusations that the family had been "disrespectful" and "not cooperating."

The father disputes that characterization.

He says the family followed the instructions they were given.

Then came the video

The father had recorded part of the interaction.

According to the family, Leslie told the father that if he deleted the video, the family would be allowed to board.

The father says he immediately complied.

He began deleting the recording.

And then, according to the family, the situation took an unexpected turn.

While the father was deleting the video, the boarding door was closed.

The father says Leslie immediately turned toward Stephanie and asked why the door had been closed.

According to the father's recollection, Stephanie replied:

"It's your call, I don't know why I did that."

Then, according to the father, Leslie turned back to the family and said:

"You know what, you guys are not onboarding today."

The family says they were stunned.

They believed they had just been told they could board after deleting the video.

They say they complied.

Then they say the door was closed anyway.

"I will not talk to you anymore"

The mother says she tried again to explain that the family had followed the employees' instructions and was simply trying to understand what had happened.

According to the family, Leslie eventually told them:

"I will not talk to you anymore."

The family says they were told to contact Frontier customer service themselves.

The father subsequently contacted Frontier and says he was told the reason associated with the incident was:

"not cooperating during the boarding process."

The father says that description is false.

He says the family:

• rescanned the boarding passes;
• stepped aside when instructed;
• complied with the staff's requests;
• complied with the instruction to delete the video;
• and never refused to board.

A family with three small children was left scrambling

After being denied boarding, the family says they had to purchase replacement airfare at the last minute for approximately $2,000.

The parents say they then spent hours dealing with rebooking, navigating between airport terminals, locating their luggage and traveling through LAX with three young children.

They say they eventually arrived home around 11 p.m.

The children were:

Two 5-year-old boys and one 3-year-old girl.

The father says the family had also asked before boarding whether they could board earlier because they were traveling with three young children.

He says Stephanie declined the request.

According to the father, when he explained that the family had previously been allowed to board early on a Frontier flight from Seattle to Los Angeles, Stephanie responded:

"I own this flight, I will do what I want."

The family says the remark added to their concerns about how the interaction was handled.

The family says it has evidence

The family says it has preserved documentation related to the incident, including:

Boarding passes and check-in records

Photographs and video

Frontier complaint and incident records

Customer-service correspondence

Other documentation from the airport

The family has submitted multiple complaints and says it has been trying to obtain a meaningful resolution from Frontier for months.

What the family is asking

The family says it is seeking:

Reimbursement for the original airfare and replacement airfare

Compensation for losses and disruption associated with the incident

A formal review of the gate interaction

A review of the decision to deny boarding

A written explanation and apology

Accountability regarding the two employees identified as Stephanie and Leslie

The family says it is particularly concerned about the sequence of events surrounding the boarding door.

Why was the family told they could board, only for the door to close while the father was deleting the video?

And why, according to the family, was the incident later characterized as a failure to cooperate?

Frontier complaint records

The family provided the following reference numbers:

OACP:
2026041424122
2026041424613
2026051429284
2026051429285

Frontier:
INC-20260415105541-000868
INC-20260416013014-000291
INC-20260416032919-000401
INC-20260420103322-000788

Check-in confirmation: A9E19L

The family's question

The parents say they are not asking strangers on the internet to automatically take their side.

They want an independent look at the sequence of events.

The father says:

"We followed their instructions. We didn't refuse to cooperate. We had valid tickets and five boarding passes. We just wanted to know what was wrong and get on our flight."

The mother says:

"We were traveling with our three children. We never expected a boarding-pass scanning issue to turn into our entire family being denied boarding."

The family is now asking other Frontier passengers:

Have you ever been denied boarding after your boarding passes were scanned?

Have you ever been told you could board and then had the boarding door closed anyway?

Have you ever been labeled "not cooperating" despite following staff instructions?

What happened when you complained to Frontier?

The family says its supporting documentation is available here:

Formal complaint:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1njPu_50tG29icZ6ayMtBPv9rgSUzl4J6H4-uDNflLtM/edit?usp=sharing

Images & videos:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dwIHOTcAFwh5tGfHd5FWhdSNJ6-JIweU?usp=sharing

Boarding passes & check-in records:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EWYLpPdvXWIvVqXS7yTqNzlY8ThTWW5i?usp=sharing