TSA & ID
 

So the 'consistent inconsistency' got one of my friends today. Well, one of his kids' friends. The kids were flying to CA, and one of them forgot his ID. Got through security in PIT just fine.

Got to PHX for their layover and they left the sterile area. When they attempted to return, the TSA would not allow the friend without his ID back through the checkpoint. So now they're stuck, because my friend's kid would not leave HIS friend on his own.

Yeah, they should never have left the secure area, we get that, but why is the TSA in Phoenix telling this kid that he absolutely is not allowed to go through security without an ID?

While there are ways to prove the ID of an adult my guess is it's a lot harder to for a minor due to lack of a paper trail. If they're at T4 they could try another checkpoint since all concourses are interconnected behind security. I think both of Terminal 3s are as well but I can't remember off the top of my head.

Because they can screw up his day. There is no other real reason.

The TSA website makes clear that you do not need an ID, but that TSA must be able to verify your identity. That's relatively easy and painless for an adult, but can be harder for a kid.

Are you saying that TSA refused to attempt the verification process or that TSA attempted the verification process and could not satisfactorily complete it?

If the former, I would find a senior supervisor at another checkpoint. If the latter, them's the breaks. Fedex the license, they'll have it tomorrow and be on their way.

Define kid - how old were they?

"The kid" screwed up twice. Forgetting the ID, then going outside security on a layover. The first is understandable and forgivable, the second is just plain stupid.

If they're under 18, they shouldn't be required to provide ID in any case, and they should push this accordingly. Otherwise, assuming they attempted (and failed) to verify their identity, there's little practical recourse.

More information is needed. The TSA says

Q. What ID is needed for minors traveling domestically/internationally?
A. Minor children (younger than 18) are not required to provide an ID at the airport security checkpoint. They will just need their boarding pass. All passengers, including children, on international flights are required to have a passport in their possession.

So something is not making any sense if the kids are under eighteen.

Sounds like that the kid without ID looked under 18 to the TDC at the originating airport, but looked over 18 to the TDC at the connecting airport.

He would have aged a bit during that time :)

They're both over 18, so "kid" is relative. And they're traveling on their own, so they have no clue how to contact a supervisor, etc. My friend's son called his dad, but his cell phone died so we don't have the entire story, we just know that he wasn't allowed back in the sterile area. (And everyone is agreed that leaving it was incredibly stupid, but apparently smoking is a necessity. :rolleyes: )

An 18 YOA is an adult. If he has a license, but left it at home, it's still verifiable. If he's got school ID, a magazine with a home address label on it and so forth, TSA can easily undertake the verification. They use public and government databases.

There has to be more to this story and it sounds as though the story needs to be completed when the cell battery is recharged.

TSA does this ID verification thing all the time. It takes time & patience, but it's all doable.

An omitted detail that significantly changes the story.

And they probably did not think to ask about a smoking area within the sterile area either. I guess one can only roll their eyes and say son think of this as a learning experience.

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Sufi sage, Mulla Nasrudin.

The TSA could just screen the passenger to make sure no prohibited items are allowed past the checkpoint. Even if a terrorist got on a plane, what is he going to do if he doesn't have a weapon or bomb? I could care less who is on the plane as long as they don't have any weapons or bombs. It's not like the TDC is checking against the no fly list anyway.

The "kid" is 19. Just found out that the TSA said that they need "more" information in Phoenix than in other airports because of the "problems" they have at that airport, so the medicine bottles with his name on them were not sufficient. Someone at home found his driver's license and faxed that, but they want his birth certificate too. (???)

WN is being awesome on this and will get the kids on a flight once they clear security, at no extra charge. Kids mom is going to overnight his license to CA so he has it for the return trip.