Sorry to be dumb but what does this mean???

IS the person that champions your cause. They are assigned to deal with issue resolution. A lot of government agencies have them. TSA has their own.

That's the major problem with the list. Obviously I haven't seen it but from news stories and complaints like the OP's, the list appears to contain only a name (ie. David Nelson) and little if anything else. It may be that 'removal' from the list consists solely of adding a bit more information (SSN, DL etc.) to distinguish between individuals with the same name. If there's a bad David Nelson out there waiting to hijack a plane then any and all David Nelsons are going to have to stay on the list.

Now how they got there in the first place is a separate discussion.....

A colleague of mine has a similar problem. He has a very common american sounding name -- something as common as Mark Smith (not his real name). He was on the "do not fly" list and went thru this harrassment for months. Finally got the TSA to remove it. Or at least he thought so. Then he showed up at SFO for a trans-pacific flight on Singapore air and they called the SF Police Department who slowly searched thru every nick and cranny in his bags. If he hadn't arrived early, he would have missed his plane. He has no clue whether he is back on the list or whether Singapore Air just had an old copy.

What a nightmare!!

Speaking of nightmares. Another colleague -- this one a french citizen was leaving Beijing. His passport had recently expired and he had a brand new one. The Chinese officials looked at the "virgin" passport and assumed it was fake. They even told him (in very poor english) that he didn't look french. He tried speaking French, but they had no clue what language it was. Eventually, some supervisor let him through and he was allowed on the plane, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. Something to remember when you renew passports.

This is all so sorry. Such a waste of manpower. Waste of money. Loss of freedom. So sad.

It's not entirely a waste of money, someone got government benefits and a pay raise. At the cost of what's left of our freedom and dignity.

Interestingly, a lot of names on the list are not those of terrorists at all, but names of fugitives (i.e. murderers and kidnappers still on the run). Someone found a copy of the watch list and posted a link on this board a while back.

Had a jumpseater on my flight and he was saying how he is often subjected to extra crutiny because he shares the same first and last name AND birthdate as someone of the no fly list. Only difference is the middle name, but middle initial is the same.

He related one incident when he flew the plane into an airport and was going to deadhead back in the same airplane. When he went to get his boarding pass, he was again checked out.

Made no sense at all. He could be at the controls of the plane without any problem, but in order to sit in the back, he had to be cleared.

With all due respect to the OP, why does everyone assume that this is a mistake? Perhaps there is a good and justifiable reason that the OP's name is on the no-fly list.

Then why have they always cleared him/her to fly after going through the rigamarole? Seems if they actually meant for the OP to be on the list (and not just someone with the same / similar name), they wouldn't clear him or her for the flight at all, or would divert it like they did for the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens.

The OP is non-threatening enough that he has a resident alien card, non-threatening enough that he has been cleared for each of these flights, and non-threatening enough that they aren't trying to arrest him or deport him.

IMO there should not be a class of people that are "too threatening" to fly but not threatening enough to arrest and give due process in a court of law. Such depravation of freedom without due process is disgusting.

The OP and everyone else on or matching the no-fly list should either be 1) deported due do evidence against them (in the case of non citizens), 2) arrested, tried with full due process, and imprisoned if convicted, or 3) allowed to travel freely without hassle.

I suspect (3) is the correct choice for the OP. It may take the US govt months/years to figure that out. That is a shame, and the people responsible should be punished.

Studentff Well Said ^^

mpc1

Studentff is exactly right. This no-fly list is part of the charade of increased security. If someone is on the list, then check out that person when he or she is stopped at an airport. If a terrorist, deport or prosecute. Those two choices require too much effort on the part of the government, unless the person is being allowed to continue in an effort to make a case against others higher up the chain.

'-

No disrespect taken and you could be right- there could be a justifiable reason for me being on the list. BUT, if that is the case then 1: why was I allowed thru security w/o additional screening? 2: in June '03 I renewed my resident alien card and went thru an intense FBI screening and INS interview. If there had been any questions, my card would not have been renewed and proper action would have been taken; and 3: I've been flying consistently since the creation of the TSA and have never been on the list before. Why now? If there is something wrong w/ me, what's taken them so long to find it? And why won't they tell me what the problem is?
And oh yeah, not only have I taken private tours of the White House, I have been cleared by the Secret Service to put a microphone on a President of the United States!

I have been in the same situation. I fly for business alot, over 50,000+ miles a year. Last month I was flying NW to Chicago to see a friend then on to Wisconsin for business. I tried checking in on line and I got a message saying see the agent at the airport. On my day of departure I tried the kiosk, same response see the ticket agent. She asked for my itinerary and ID and picked up the phone and after about a 5 minute conversation (repeating my name, destination and repeating what my ID was) she printed out my boarding passes. When I inquired as to what was going on and who at NW I should contact, she indicated she was talking to the FAA, not the airlines

I have a VERY common name, last name of Smith. But anyway i was told my name was on a watch list and thats all they would tell me.

I am traveling to Europe next month and I am starting to think that they might pull a Cat Stevens on my a** and land in Canada and drag me off the plane.

Funny thing was though, when I was returning to NC from WI, I was able to check in using the kisok at the ATW airport. I haven't traveled since, so I wonder if my name was removed?

Other than slowly seeing my right to privacy dwindle away, should I be worried about my international travel plans in February?