PhlyingRPh

Well, I've had my jollies for the week...

At the checkpoint, the passenger in front of me produced a Passport issued by Afghanistan with her BP for the TSO to review. TSO looked at the passport, turned it around a few times, scratched her head, then asked the passenger if she had any u.s. government issued ID, or ID from any other country. The passenger said no, and was told she would be treated like someone with no ID and have to go through secondary screening because the TSA did not recognize foreign passports as valid ID. "Thats Bull$hit. What do you think of this ID?" I said, and threw my BP and British Passport on the counter for the ID checker to check. ID Checker was a little frazzled but did an admirable job of keeping cool.

Afghan Passport holder was surprised at this crazy guy challenging the TSO but when the TSO handed me a BP and did not ask me any questions, the Afghan passenger asked her why she accepted my passport and not hers, since both were foreign? I may or may not have contributed to the kerfufle that followed by providing advice to the passenger in her own language while the supervisor was called. However, you should have seen the look on the supervisors face when she asked for the Terminal Manager and the TSA Manager for this airport by name.

I only wish I had stayed around to see what BS explanation she got from the Terminal Manager re/ an Afghan passport being considered No-ID.

GUWonder

Glad to see someone call the TSA out on it.

Is Afghanistan still on the list of TSA-blacklisted countries such that all passengers from such countries using the blacklisted country-issued government IDs are subjected to the equivalent of what was haraSSSSment screening?

So much for the government of Afghanistan being considered an "ally" by the US when its nationals are blacklisted despite the intense cooperation of their government.

goalie

my two hockey pucks says it's imply cuz it was a passport from afghanistan and the tso thought he was being patriotic .

sorry, but this person has no business in being a tso-i mean c'mon....a pax presents a foreign passport and is asked if they have any i/d issued by the u.s. government or i/d issued by a country other that that of the passport presented? sheesh, what an effing moron.....

codex57

Hahaha. Damn, I wish you could have stuck around and heard what the Terminal Manager said.

LessO2

Their title really should be "Trained* Document Checkers."

Where did this incident occur?

ESpen36

It's quite possible. I know for a fact that it's the case for Iraqi citizens. They are required to undergo a Customs secondary upon arrival AND DEPARTURE when they travel to/from the USA. TSA won't clear them until they go back down through CBP again upon departure to be questioned and searched. Are there other Middle Eastern countries for which these standards apply?

YCTTSFM

^^^ This post made my morning!

would you mind indicating, at least generally, where this occurred? East Coast? ORD? LAX? Tx.

mikeef

Well, to be fair, since she's from Afghanistan, she might have been Osama Bin Laden. But a US passport with the name "Jane Doe" would have cleared it up for the TSO.

Thanks for a good laugh.

Mike

Crazyace718

This TSO was not going out of their way to give the passenger a hard time. She was merely following the SOP which dictates that Passports from certain countries are not considered valid. I'm not going to name the countries but they are a slew of Middle Eastern and African nations. If the person doesn't furnish an alternative ID they are supposed to receive additional screening.

Its fine if a person is not familiar with the TSA's rules or just don't agree with them. I commend the OP for helping the Afghan woman find answers. However the OP's initial reaction to the situation was uncalled for and I find it disturbing that he gloated about it. He could have easily handed his documents over and quietly explained the proper course of action to the Afghan woman. I cant believe no one has chastised the OP for disrespecting a screener who was just doing their job. Does the OP think TDC had a hand in creating the rule? I just read a 7 page thread about a TDC being called out for not knowing a clear card was acceptable ID and his rude behavior following that. Rude PAX should be called out the same as rude screeners.

I also wonder if the OP would have been so bold had this happened on a CBP checkpoint.

Boggie Dog

And just why is TSA checking ID anyhow?

What additional degree of security does this act provide?

Crazyace718

You read my post and that's all you have to say? Where did I write that I agree with the TSA's policy regarding document checking.

I dont make the rules, seek out Kipp and his cronies if you want answers for their decisions.

FWAAA

Your post is further evidence that the TSA is stupid beyond belief.

Passports "from certain countries are not considered valid"? Do you realize how stupid that sounds?

The woman was in the USA, so someone at CBP considered her passport "valid." Otherwise, she would have been denied entry.

I applaud the OP for pointing out the stupidity at the checkpoint.

There's an institutional stupidity at work here. Too Stupid for Air.

halls120

LOL, I wondered why no one had yet brought out that critical fact.

Too Stupid for Air is an understatement.

magellan315

Since your SOP's are SSI we can only take your word for it that this is in fact policy. So unless you have proof of this policy why should we believe you.

The OP had no way of knowing your SOP's for passengers from certain countries he handled it the same way I would have. All he saw was a passenger with a legitimate passport about to be subjected to an unnecessary and possible punitive secondary search.

PhlyingRPh

Everything is big in...