ID Checker: "Age?"
 

This morning while going through Checkpoint B in CLT the ID checker asked everyone their age.

Since it was too early for me to think I just responded instead of giving him a piece of my mind.

If checking ID names against the boarding pass is for the airline's revenue protection versus safety, why would he care how old I was. Why would he care how old everyone going through his check point was? It's not like I was carrying liquor through the check point.

Then the X-ray person was seeing imaginary liquids in my bag and had to rerun my bag after removing some contents. I love the fact that they can't detect anything of real harm.

Seems to me you might choose to respond in one of two ways to that one:

"NOYB"

or

"It's right there on my driver's license; figure it out."

Any numeric answer you give is right in some number system. If you're 32, answer 20. That's 32 in hexadecimal.

I would guess thier age!

" I would say you are about 79."

I smell a SPOT newbie.

Maybe they just want to continue on with the carnival theme? Maybe the checker is just studying to become the "Guess Your Age and Weight" guy?:)

Not to worry, they are not smart enough to figure it out looking at it. Total waste.

Ask him/her how old they are before you answer.

"Is there an age requirement for traveling in the Land of the TSA now?"

I think the OP should file a complalint with the TSA. The issue in isolation may be trivial, but there's a very important principle involved, or rather two principles: 1) if the question is required by TSA policy, then are we going to accept that the TSA has a right to expand into asking prying personal questions which have no clear relation to maintaining security, and 2) if the question isn't required by TSA security, are we going to accept TSA staff making up their own rules for us to follow on their own initiative?

I would be very interested to know whether this question is required by TSA policy, and if it isn't, whether a TSA staff member who decides to make it part of the standard screening procedure is acting within TSA policy.

While I know that we all like to rant about the TSA, the OP does not specify whether this happened at an airport where TSA has taken over the ID check or not. Most US airports still retain the private security firms that are "hired by the airlines and not mandated by the TSA" as their ID check stations. Honestly, we would need more information from the OP to determine if this was a TSO that asked the question or a rent-a-cop.

yup it is noyb and if they persist, mess with them on purpose and make up a date. my favorite date to use in a situation like this is July 14, 1789. if they have half a brain (which i don't think they will).....

well let's just say that there is no crime in not providing that information as they are not a leo and as such, you are not required to give them that information and where you have not given false information to said leo, you have not violated any law.

I had this happen when traveling with co-workers who thought it was darn FUNNY. I tried to whisper my age, but failing that, finally had to just say it.

It's against our privacy rules at work, so no one knew I old I really am.

Now they do!

You should have just said, "I'm over 21." If they persisted, tell them
to go pound sand.

An ID checker at CLE asked me my birthdate, and then acted like she didn't believe me when I told her; she studied my ID for several more seconds before finally handing it back. I'm no longer answering such questions, though; if they want, they can go get the TSA or a LEO, but it's none of their business, IMHO. (She also then asked where I was born--as I was using a passport as ID--which I didn't answer; I just stared at her until she gave my ID back to me).