Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi entered the plea Tuesday in federal court and agreed to pay for the cost of the flight from New York to Los Angeles.
The 24-year-old Noibi faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 28.
Noibi was arrested on June 29 at Los Angeles International Airport after authorities determined he got past screenings using expired boarding passes with someone else's name and presenting outdated student identification.
While prosecutors did not find that terrorism applied in this case, the incident has raised questions about screening procedures.
