I do not fly nearly as much as I used to. But I fly enough to still dislike TSA.
I remember when “inspection” was relatively new. The year was 1974. I was going to college as a new Junior.
For that trip, I decided to carry my tuition as Eisenhower dollar coins. Long gone now, those coins were, big and hefty. My semester tuition, about $1,000 (which seems so cheap now) weighed about 45 pounds. As I was getting on the airplane, the inspector gingerly opened my briefcase, opened one of the three bank bags and asked me what it was. When I said “money”, the inspector gingerly closed the case and handed it back.
This was before the days of scanning and before removing shoes and on and on. And it didn’t really matter then.
Today it is much, much worse. And it still doesn’t really matter.
Bruce Schneier wrote a recent opinion in the LA Times. It lays out the issues very clearly. And, it explains exactly how to work around the sytem.
Anyone on the no-fly list can easily fly whenever he wants. Even worse, the whole concept of matching passenger names against a list of bad guys has negligible security value.
How to fly, even if you are on the no-fly list: Buy a ticket in some innocent person’s name. At home, before your flight, check in online and print out your boarding pass. Then, save that web page as a PDF and use Adobe Acrobat to change the name on the boarding pass to your own. Print it again. At the airport, use the fake boarding pass and your valid ID to get through security. At the gate, use the real boarding pass in the fake name to board your flight.
The problem is that it is unverified passenger names that get checked against the no-fly list. At security checkpoints, the TSA just matches IDs to whatever is printed on the boarding passes. The airline checks boarding passes against tickets when people board the plane. But because no one checks ticketed names against IDs, the security breaks down.
This vulnerability isn’t new. It isn’t even subtle. I first wrote about it in 2006. I asked Kip Hawley, who runs the TSA, about it in 2007. Today, any terrorist smart enough to Google “print your own boarding pass” can bypass the no-fly list.
So, why are we doing this? Are we just protecting ourselves from the people who don’t know any better?
Does all of this hassle make people feel better? Does it make you feel better?
“At the gate, use the real boarding pass in the fake name to board your flight”–
THIS WOULD NO LONGER WORK AS ALL AIRPORTS ARE NOW REQUIRING NOT ONLY YOUR BOARDING PASS, BUT PICTURE IDs ALSO, TO BOARD YOUR FIRST PLANE AND ALL SUBSEQUENT CONNECTIONS. I FLEW THIS PAST SUMMER-2008-AND LAST SUMMER-2007-AND BOTH ITEMS ARE REQUIRED TO BOARD.
October 4th, 2008 | #
I’m not sure where you flew, but I flew within the last 60 days and while an ID was required for security an ID was NOT required for boarding. I’d be curious about the experiences of others. Is an ID actually required at boarding? If so where? If not where? FWIW, I was flying out of Denver and Dallas.
October 4th, 2008 | #
We flew from Richmond VA to Jackson WY in June 2008. When we checked in at the ticket counter we were required to show a photo id as well as our e-tickets where we were issued boarding passes. When we passed through security we were required to to again show phot id and boarding pass. At that point we were told we could put the photo id’s away. We did not need to show them again and we changed planes twice. Same was true on the return trip home.
pat
October 4th, 2008 | #
It seems to depend upon the airport. I’ve flown a bit over the past couple of years, I recall being asked to show ID at one airport while boarding. The rest just wanted boarding passes.
October 4th, 2008 | #
James, I flew round trip on American Airlines within the last two weeks, originating in STL, connecting in Dallas to Jackson, MS. In each case I had to show id when checking in and then id and boarding pass when going through security. When boarding for each of the four segments the only item that needed to be presented was the boarding pass.
Mike L
October 4th, 2008 | #
In the last 18 months, I have flown out of Denver, Kansas City, Boston, Baltimore, Philidelphia, Providence, and Chicago. Usually NW, United, or Frontier Airlines.
I have always needed my ID and boarding pass to get through TSA or check a bag. I have NEVER needed anything other than my boarding pass to get on the
plane.
October 4th, 2008 | #
Me and my guide dog Lucky recently flew from ORL to LAX on a non sstop. Photo ID was required to get on the plane, evn after showing it to several other authorities during the process. And I’m all for it. The initial article here illustrates what a joke we as citizens of the U.S. make of the whole attempt at renewed security to prevent recurrence of the tragedies of September 11, 2001. If the airline stewardess or the pilot wanted to see my photo ID after returning from the lavoratory before allowing me to sit back down in my seat, I would gladly show it to them. Who but the criminal would object?
October 5th, 2008 | #
In the last two years, I’ve flown out of several airports. ID requirements varied. Some airports required photo ID at several points in the process; others only required photo ID at check-in, and let you through the rest with only a boarding pass.
* Photo ID and boarding pass required at check-in, security, and when boarding the plane:
NYC-Newark
NYC-Kennedy
Toronto
London-Heathrow
* Photo ID and boarding pass required at check-in and security; boarding pass only to get on the plane:
Denver
Detroit
NYC-LaGuardia
* Photo ID and boarding pass required at check-in; only boarding pass required for security and boarding the plane:
Rochester NY
Jackson Hole Wyoming
–
K@
Kat Nagel
October 5th, 2008 | #