“WOW! Seriously???? You were on the no fly list???”
I had cut back on my travel after 9/11, and the first time after my travel cut back, I did some flying for business and personal matters, I started getting pulled out of lines. I was able to convince them that a guy in his 60’s was not a threat.
Then, a friend with the same names actually was not allowed to fly back from LA, and he informed me about us being on the No Fly list due to our names.
Later my wife and her two brothers joined me. At birth, they had been given first names that they didn’t like. So they went by their second names and basically didn’t use their first names. No problem until after 9/11, and they tried to renew their driver’s licenses in two different states. They were turned down as their SS #’s were based on their full names in their birth certificates and didn’t match what was on their driver’s licenses.
All three had to go to their local SS office, 3 different offices to get things changed around. While that process was going on, my wife’s mother died, and we made reservations back to her home state for the funeral as soon as we found out.
That set off all types of alarms for her re TSA on our flight the next day. I had no problems going or coming. The TSA rep at our airport was really rude and was even asking questions about the books she was reading. I asked her and her supervisor a couple of literary questions, and they shut up.
Then my wife started crying, they wanted to know why. I said that her mother had died the day before and we were going to her mother’s funeral and didn’t need this bs from two rude B$tches. They backed off and let us get on the plane.
On the flight back we flew out of Midway, and we were escorted by TSA to a frisk/search room where people were getting patted down. The lesbian patting down my wife was enjoying her job too much. I showed them my data and was left alone.
Then, I took out my camera and started to take a picture of what was happening to my wife and the TSA supervisor tried to grab my camera. I said no and handed him my brochure and told him a loud voice to call off the lesbian. Which he did.
He turned out to be an ASA vet. He apologized, and we got out of there. As we were leaving a SW pilot was putting his shirt and jacket back on while saying he was glad that he was a SW pilot and a major in the USAF.
TSA was out of control that day.
The reason for the long story is when Americans born and raised in this country get hassled while flying how did a Chechen terrorist fly to Russia and back with no problem.
Good point, thanks for posting.