  The extraordinarily bright gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A was observed by a
large number of observatories, from radio frequencies to gamma-rays. Of
particular interest are the reported observations of photon-like air showers of
very high energy: an 18 TeV event in LHAASO and a 251 TeV event at Carpet-2.
Gamma rays at these energies are expected to be absorbed by pair-production
events on background photons when travelling intergalactic distances. Several
works have sought to explain the observations of these events, assuming they
originate from GRB 221009A, by invoking axion-like particles (ALPs). We
reconsider this scenario and account for astrophysical uncertainties due to
poorly known magnetic fields and background photon densities. We find that,
robustly, the ALP scenario cannot simultaneously account for an 18 TeV and a
251 TeV photon from GRB 221009A.
