FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Can pax refuse search?
View Single Post
Old Jul 28, 2004 | 7:52 pm
  #13  
Darren
10 Countries Visited20 Countries Visited30 Countries Visited20 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
Originally Posted by GradGirl
Is anybody else scared yet?
No, because I dont do anything to warrant being scared. Flying is not a right. There is no Constitutional Amendment that says, "Thou shalt have the right to fly to Duluth." Nor is it in the Bible from what I have read. Its a contract between you and a transport company which is governed by a regulatory agency which calls a lot of the shots. That agency is empowered by Congress which is empowered by the Constitution to enable it to call the shots. Just like when you make a transaction at a bank. The regulatory agency in that case can and often does look at the transaction even though you are "at a point of no return". You cant say no, you cant stop it. Their justification is that you consented to the search when you opened the account and made the transaction. Just like you consent to a search when you buy a ticket and fly on an airline. I agree that getting searched on arrival is suspect and probably could be challenged with a reasonable chance of success but I expect that any other challenges would be shot down pretty quickly.
Darren is offline