Marjie Lundstrom: 'No-fly' list is a hassle for passenger with common
name
By Marjie Lundstrom -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Consider the plight of Jim Anderson, a
Sacramento businessman and father of two whose sudden misfortune, it
seems, is being named Jim Anderson.
The same may be true for every other Jim Anderson out there. And for
the David Nelsons of the world - and for countless others who find
themselves with a big, post-9/11 headache.
The trouble for our Jim Anderson began last month, when the 44-year-old
seasoned business traveler hit an unexpected and disconcerting snag at
Sacramento International Airport.
As a business-unit manager for Hansen Information Technologies,
traveling nationwide to help government entities with billing, Anderson
had already made 16 trips since January. Each time, he sailed through
airports by taking advantage of savvy shortcuts: curbside service,
check-in kiosks, special lines for frequent flyers.
Not this time. On June 12, Anderson learned that his name had triggered
some alarm in the airline's computer and, suddenly, the man who describes
himself as a "button-down, white-shirt kind of guy" was a person under
suspicion - perhaps even a suspected terrorist.
The hassles had only begun.
As the Sept. 11 commission issued its final report this week, and new
scrutiny falls on the Transportation Security Administration, the
balancing act between airport security and individual travelers' rights
seems as precarious as ever.
At the center of controversy is the TSA's so-called "no-fly" list,
created after 9/11 to flag those passengers considered a security threat.
Last month, a federal judge in San Francisco accused the government of
stonewalling efforts by two Bay Area peace activists and the American
Civil Liberties Union of Northern California to get information on the
no-fly list. The ACLU sued the TSA after the women were told their names
were on the secret list, and ACLU attempts to learn more about it were
largely unsuccessful.
In separate legal action in April, the ACLU filed suit in Seattle
against the TSA over its administration of the no-fly list. Among the
plaintiffs, who said they were searched, detained, delayed and humiliated
by being erroneously flagged, were a member of the military, a retired
Presbyterian minister, a college student and an ACLU attorney.
Plaintiff David Nelson, an Illinois attorney, may have been doomed by
the mere commonality of his name. Another David Nelson, the former child
star of TV's "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," reportedly was stopped
at John Wayne Airport in Orange County in December 2002.
Getting off the list, the ACLU warns, is a lot harder than getting on.
Anderson has no idea how he landed on a watch list but speculates that
"there's someone named Jim Anderson out there who's a bad guy."
The penalty for being Jim Anderson wasn't pleasant.
After waiting 15 minutes at the counter while the agent vanished with
his driver's license (imagine the snorting and harrumphing behind him), he
eventually was told he could fly.
But not without further measures. He got the full wand treatment,
exhaustive bag searches - and the loss of crucial perks, like kiosk use
and Internet and curbside check-in.
Days later, he faced identical scrutiny and delay on a different
airline.
Anderson believes in stepped-up airport security - "I get it," he
insists. But the mistaken-identity trap has left him feeing hassled and
helpless.
"For someone like me who travels extensively, to get trapped in this
type of thing is incredibly painful," he said. "You don't have an out;
there's nowhere to turn."
TSA spokesman Nico Melendez in Los Angeles said airline personnel have
erroneously told people like Anderson they are on the no-fly list when, in
fact, they are on the less restrictive "Selectee List." Passengers booking
one-way flights or paying cash, for instance, may make this list, which
calls for additional screening before boarding, he said.
But Melendez also said there is a way to remedy mistaken identity, by
writing to the TSA's ombudsman. This was news to Anderson, who said he has
tried in vain to set things right.
Anderson traveled again this week and, to his surprise, experienced no
special screening. But he also suspects that, as quickly as the problem
vanished, it could also return.
"There's no way to know," he said sighing. "I still have to get to the
airport early because I just don't know."
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