Originally Posted by
Red Tail Fan
Today as we (myself + 2 coworkers) were having our IDs checked with our boarding passes at TUS, the lady next to us realized that she forgot her Drivers License. She then presented a Sam's Club membership card and she was allowed to pass! After screening, I asked for a supervisor and there was none to be found so I asked an agent about this and he said that it was OK because a Sam's Club membership has a picture on it and he said she probably had a Credit Card with her name on it. According to the TSA.gov website, a "Sam's Club Membership Card" is not an acceptable form. To make things even worse, they didn't even make this women go through secondary screening. I believe she was flying on United, because she said she was flying to DEN and continuing on to SFO. This is unacceptable! There were two other witness' in my party that will verify everything. By the way, we are not your average passengers. All 3 of us are former airline employees and myself GSC qualified.
The rules were actually followed in this case. According to tsa.gov:
What if you forget your ID? Is your vacation ruined? Are you going to miss your meeting? Are you going to miss the Elvis Costello show this weekend at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall? Not at all… If you simply state you forgot your ID, we will work with you to verify your ID, you may undergo some additional screening and will be permitted to fly.
On the other hand, if you do not cooperate and state that you're not willing to show us your ID, you will not be permitted to fly.
Note that it says "may" and not "must" with respect to additional security screening. That SSSS for forgotten ID's is no longer mandatory was further confirmed on this blog by credible posters who are TSO's. In this case, the TSO accepted as credible her verbal assurance that she had forgotten her DL and verified an alternate form of identification. Based on his/her assessment, the TSO did not believe the passenger was a credible threat and,
in accordance with the TSA rules, did not see fit to screen her further. What's your problem?
You can debate the ID ≠ security issue all you want with others on this board, but the fact is that this TSO followed the rules.