3 ms·
But it's not illegal for a US citizen to be carrying no form of identification On a commercial flight? Of course it is. This is different from accosting a pe
by masonic 10y ago
But it's not illegal for a US citizen to be carrying no form of identification
On a commercial flight? Of course it is. This is different from accosting a pedestrian on a street without probable cause.
[EDIT: Note what the regulation actually says:
"If your identity is confirmed, you will be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint." (That does NOT, in itself, include boarding a plane.) Continuing: "You may be subject to additional screening. You will not be allowed to fly if your identity cannot be confirmed, you chose to not provide proper identification or you decline to cooperate with the identity verification process."
So, had there been passengers for which a knowing exception had been made, the investigators would have known that going in. So, it's wrong to say that "it's illegal" to be on a commercial flight in that case, but for the purpose of this specific search, any such granted variances would have had to be on record, and known to the investigators.
- maxerickson 10y agoTSA say that they will allow people to fly without documents: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification (they treat it as an exception, but it is right there on their website)
- GavinMcG 10y agoThat's just not true. I've gotten on planes without ID before, after losing my driver's license. I got patted down extra thoroughly, but there's no issue of legality.
- outericky 10y agoThis. It is very possible to fly without ID. Have done it several times due to lost wallet/id. Takes longer. And there is more verification. But def possible.
- morgante 10y agoIndeed. And that's not an anachronism, I just did it 2 years ago when I forgot my license. Just had to show them a credit card.
- AckSyn 10y agoI did it last week when I accidentally shipped my wallet containing my drivers license and passport home before flying home. It's nothing more serious than waiting a little more before getting through the line.
- dingaling 10y agoIt's interesting that you can fly without ID ( airlines in the UK closed that hole years ago to prevent ticket resale ) but I'm confused why that led to additional pat-down scrutiny. Surely the thoroughness physical screening should be orthogonal to identity? Otherwise it suggests that someone who does have ID to fly receives less scrutiny, which is a security vulnerability. To invert: everyone boarding an aircraft should be physically screened to the same extent.
- awalton 10y agoAdding another "It's completely possible" data point. I've done it at least twice (probably more, but I only remember the twice due to the "enhanced patdown" I received being a bit...touchy-feely...)