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Thoroughly Stupid Agency
Feb. 1st, 2007 08:52 pmFaithful readers may recall that I lost my driver's license in my first few days in Philadelphia (cf David Ives). This has led to all kinds of entertaining discussions with airline and TSA employees.
For instance, when I called AirTran just before I first flew without my license, I was told I would need either (a) a government-issued photo ID, or (b) a non-photo ID like a social security card plus, say, a credit card. That did indeed get me onto the plane, albeit with extra searching. (You know, the extra searching isn't even really that much of a hassle.)
Two weeks ago, at the Philly airport, I showed them my Penn ID card (which is not, I should stress, government-issued; Penn is a private institution). Both the ticket agent and the security agent accepted it without comment.
On the return, at the Boston airport, the ticket agent glared at me, so I gave her my SocSec card, and she wrote the "search this guy" code on the boarding pass. The TSA employee at the security line looked at my pass. "You don't have ID?" she asked. "Just this non-government photo ID and my SocSec card," I told her. She shook her head and said, "That's enough ID. They shouldn't have marked you for extra searching. Well, nothing to do about it now," and we commiserated about the ignorance of AirTran employees.
Today, leaving Philadelphia, I bypassed the ticket agent (I'd printed my boarding pass in advance, and I didn't have any bags to check) and went straight to the security line, where I handed the TSA agent my Penn ID. Yeah, OK, so it's not technically sufficient, but I figured I'd try to pull it off. No dice, alas, so I gave her my SocSec card and said, "I'm afraid I lost my driver's license and I don't have a passport."
"This isn't enough ID," she told me.
"Uh," I said, "I was told in Boston that it was."
"This is Philadelphia," she said pointedly, as if we all knew that travel regulations vary by city and people in Boston are incompetant.
"I'm sorry, let me rephrase," I told her. "I was told by a TSA agent in Boston that this was sufficient ID."
"Listen to me," she said. "Either you need a government-issued photo ID, or you need your birth certificate, a social security card..."
"This is a social security card," I insisted.
She said, "I'm trying to help you here. You need your birth certificate, your social security card, and a photo ID."
I blinked. "That's not true," I said. "I've been flying for the past month with these as my identification."
After a few rounds of vague threats to send me back down to the ticket counter or just not let me through at all, she and I went over to where her supervisor was, and she asked him, "Do you need a SocSec card, your driver's license, and a photo ID?"
"Yes," he said, and she nodded. "Go to the TSA website and look it up," she told me. "In fact, I've got the regulations right here," and she picked up a stack of paper and flipped through it. "Here--you can look. See, it says, first, a government-issued photo ID, or second, two pieces of non-photo ID, at least one of which is government-issued..."
"That's what I have!" I exclaimed. "I've got two pieces of ID, and one is from the government, and--"
"You're not listening to me," she said, putting the papers out of my reach. "You need a birth certificate."
This went on for a few more minutes, with similar threats to the above, ending with her saying, "You don't seem to understand what I'm saying. I'm going to let you through, but next time you need a birth certificate," and me saying, "I appreciate that you're letting me through, but you're misreading the regulations," or at least thinking the second half of that really, really pointedly.
Now, here's the interactive part. She told me to go the TSA website and look for myself. I therefore challenge my readers: can you, in fact, find anything anywhere on the TSA website that explains what ID you need to have in order to board an airplane? Or, failing that, anything official anywhere?
(On this page, they say "We encourage each adult traveler to keep his/her airline boarding pass and government-issued photo ID available until exiting the security checkpoint. The absence of proper identification will result in additional screening", which pretty strongly suggests that in fact you can go through security without any ID at all. This GSA page about consumer rights and airlines says "Many airlines are requesting such identification at check-in", suggesting that identification is purely an airline thing, not a governmental thing.)
For instance, when I called AirTran just before I first flew without my license, I was told I would need either (a) a government-issued photo ID, or (b) a non-photo ID like a social security card plus, say, a credit card. That did indeed get me onto the plane, albeit with extra searching. (You know, the extra searching isn't even really that much of a hassle.)
Two weeks ago, at the Philly airport, I showed them my Penn ID card (which is not, I should stress, government-issued; Penn is a private institution). Both the ticket agent and the security agent accepted it without comment.
On the return, at the Boston airport, the ticket agent glared at me, so I gave her my SocSec card, and she wrote the "search this guy" code on the boarding pass. The TSA employee at the security line looked at my pass. "You don't have ID?" she asked. "Just this non-government photo ID and my SocSec card," I told her. She shook her head and said, "That's enough ID. They shouldn't have marked you for extra searching. Well, nothing to do about it now," and we commiserated about the ignorance of AirTran employees.
Today, leaving Philadelphia, I bypassed the ticket agent (I'd printed my boarding pass in advance, and I didn't have any bags to check) and went straight to the security line, where I handed the TSA agent my Penn ID. Yeah, OK, so it's not technically sufficient, but I figured I'd try to pull it off. No dice, alas, so I gave her my SocSec card and said, "I'm afraid I lost my driver's license and I don't have a passport."
"This isn't enough ID," she told me.
"Uh," I said, "I was told in Boston that it was."
"This is Philadelphia," she said pointedly, as if we all knew that travel regulations vary by city and people in Boston are incompetant.
"I'm sorry, let me rephrase," I told her. "I was told by a TSA agent in Boston that this was sufficient ID."
"Listen to me," she said. "Either you need a government-issued photo ID, or you need your birth certificate, a social security card..."
"This is a social security card," I insisted.
She said, "I'm trying to help you here. You need your birth certificate, your social security card, and a photo ID."
I blinked. "That's not true," I said. "I've been flying for the past month with these as my identification."
After a few rounds of vague threats to send me back down to the ticket counter or just not let me through at all, she and I went over to where her supervisor was, and she asked him, "Do you need a SocSec card, your driver's license, and a photo ID?"
"Yes," he said, and she nodded. "Go to the TSA website and look it up," she told me. "In fact, I've got the regulations right here," and she picked up a stack of paper and flipped through it. "Here--you can look. See, it says, first, a government-issued photo ID, or second, two pieces of non-photo ID, at least one of which is government-issued..."
"That's what I have!" I exclaimed. "I've got two pieces of ID, and one is from the government, and--"
"You're not listening to me," she said, putting the papers out of my reach. "You need a birth certificate."
This went on for a few more minutes, with similar threats to the above, ending with her saying, "You don't seem to understand what I'm saying. I'm going to let you through, but next time you need a birth certificate," and me saying, "I appreciate that you're letting me through, but you're misreading the regulations," or at least thinking the second half of that really, really pointedly.
Now, here's the interactive part. She told me to go the TSA website and look for myself. I therefore challenge my readers: can you, in fact, find anything anywhere on the TSA website that explains what ID you need to have in order to board an airplane? Or, failing that, anything official anywhere?
(On this page, they say "We encourage each adult traveler to keep his/her airline boarding pass and government-issued photo ID available until exiting the security checkpoint. The absence of proper identification will result in additional screening", which pretty strongly suggests that in fact you can go through security without any ID at all. This GSA page about consumer rights and airlines says "Many airlines are requesting such identification at check-in", suggesting that identification is purely an airline thing, not a governmental thing.)