diff --git a/frontend/components/ops/__tests__/opsLocalAccess.test.ts b/frontend/components/ops/__tests__/opsLocalAccess.test.ts
index 4d50f7a0..b959faac 100644
--- a/frontend/components/ops/__tests__/opsLocalAccess.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/components/ops/__tests__/opsLocalAccess.test.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,19 @@ export function runTests() {
     "ops server page gate must honor localhost ops access before Supabase/admin-email redirects",
   );
 
+  assert(
+    opsAdminSource.includes("verifyOpsAdminWithBackend") &&
+      opsAdminSource.includes("POLYWEATHER_API_BASE_URL") &&
+      opsAdminSource.includes("/api/ops/online-users") &&
+      opsAdminSource.includes("Authorization") &&
+      opsAdminSource.includes("BACKEND_ENTITLEMENT_HEADER") &&
+      opsAdminSource.includes("await supabase.auth.getSession()") &&
+      opsAdminSource.includes("if (allowedEmails.includes(email))") &&
+      opsAdminSource.includes("if (await verifyOpsAdminWithBackend(accessToken))") &&
+      !opsAdminSource.includes("if (!allowedEmails.length || !hasSupabaseServerEnv())"),
+    "ops admin page gate must fall back to the backend ops admin check when the frontend admin email env is missing or stale",
+  );
+
   assert(
     opsProxyAuthSource.includes("isLocalOpsAccessHost") &&
       opsProxyAuthSource.includes("x-forwarded-host") &&
diff --git a/frontend/lib/ops-admin.ts b/frontend/lib/ops-admin.ts
index c59fddd2..b12e5322 100644
--- a/frontend/lib/ops-admin.ts
+++ b/frontend/lib/ops-admin.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { cookies, headers } from "next/headers";
 import { redirect } from "next/navigation";
+import { BACKEND_ENTITLEMENT_HEADER } from "@/lib/backend-auth";
 import { isLocalOpsAccessHost } from "@/lib/ops-local-access";
 import {
   createSupabaseServerClient,
@@ -7,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   hasSupabaseSessionCookieValues,
 } from "@/lib/supabase/server";
 
+const API_BASE = process.env.POLYWEATHER_API_BASE_URL;
 const LOCAL_DEV_OPS_EMAIL = "local-dev@polyweather.local";
 
 function parseAdminEmails() {
@@ -16,6 +18,30 @@ function parseAdminEmails() {
     .filter(Boolean);
 }
 
+async function verifyOpsAdminWithBackend(accessToken: string) {
+  const token = String(accessToken || "").trim();
+  if (!API_BASE || !token) return false;
+
+  const headers = new Headers({
+    Accept: "application/json",
+    Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
+  });
+  const backendToken = process.env.POLYWEATHER_BACKEND_ENTITLEMENT_TOKEN?.trim();
+  if (backendToken) {
+    headers.set(BACKEND_ENTITLEMENT_HEADER, backendToken);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(`${API_BASE.replace(/\/+$/, "")}/api/ops/online-users`, {
+      cache: "no-store",
+      headers,
+    });
+    return response.ok;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 export async function requireOpsAdmin(nextPath = "/ops") {
   const headerStore = await headers();
   const requestHost =
@@ -25,7 +51,7 @@ export async function requireOpsAdmin(nextPath = "/ops") {
   }
 
   const allowedEmails = parseAdminEmails();
-  if (!allowedEmails.length || !hasSupabaseServerEnv()) {
+  if (!hasSupabaseServerEnv()) {
     redirect("/");
   }
 
@@ -57,9 +83,18 @@ export async function requireOpsAdmin(nextPath = "/ops") {
   if (!email) {
     redirect(`/auth/login?next=${encodeURIComponent(nextPath)}`);
   }
-  if (!allowedEmails.includes(email)) {
-    redirect("/");
+
+  if (allowedEmails.includes(email)) {
+    return { email };
   }
 
-  return { email };
+  const {
+    data: { session },
+  } = await supabase.auth.getSession();
+  const accessToken = session?.access_token || "";
+  if (await verifyOpsAdminWithBackend(accessToken)) {
+    return { email };
+  }
+
+  redirect("/");
 }