Originally Posted by InTheAirGuy

After going through this countless times when travelling with my 10 year old - can't web check in, frowns and stares and phone calls at the gate when we check in, and whispered comments on the calls about "the list" - and having all these AC agents tell me they were unable to tell me anything about what was going on (this throuh the last few years)- one GA finally told me that his name is on the no-fly list.

On our most recent US departure, a gate agent came on board to double check his passport.

He's 10. They looked at him, saw he was 10, and finally figured out he is not a bad guy (though he has had one or two timeouts in his life, and we did actually have to ground him at the age of 4 after he and a brother broke a lamp.)

You would think they could build a list that is age-relevant? It seems not.

The system they have built is very stupid, is run by idiots, and has about the same likelihood of doing any good as the Canadian gun registry.

The same AC agent who finally told us what was going on suggested that the next time we book him, we should use just his initials and / or full legal name, as it was unlikely that would get a hit.

And that in itself shows just how dumb, stupid and idiotic the no-fly and other comparable lists are.

---> Edited to add: I've never been explicitly told it's the US no-fly list. Googling the name does show a news report about a middle aged guy who did something stupid once while on a plane. All I know is he is on a list, and we go through very stupid situations each time we fly.