news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050815/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/no_fly_babies
AP Babies Caught Up in 'No-Fly' Confusion By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer 2 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Infants have been stopped from boarding planes at airports t hroughout the US because their names are the same as or similar to tho se of possible terrorists on the government's "no-fly list."
It sounds like a joke, but it's not funny to parents who miss flights whi le scrambling to have babies' passports and other documents faxed. Ingrid Sanden's 1-year-old daughter was stopped in Phoenix before boardin g a flight home to Washington at Thanksgiving. "I completely understand the war on terrorism, and I completely understan d people wanting to be safe when they fly," Sanden said. "But focusing t he target a little bit is probably a better use of resources." The government's lists of people who are either barred from flying or req uire extra scrutiny before being allowed to board airplanes grew markedl y since the Sept.
American Civil Liberties Union say the government doesn't provide enough information about the people on the lists, so innocent passengers can be caught up in the security swee p if they happen to have the same name as someone on the lists. That can happen even if the person happens to be an infant like Sanden's daughter. An airli ne ticket agent told them their 11-month-old son was on the government l ist. They were able to board their flight after ticket agents took a half-hour to fax her son's passport and fill out paperwork. "I understand that security is important," Zapolsky said. "But if they're just guessing, and we have to give up our passport to prove that our 11 -month-old is not a terrorist, it's a waste of their time." Sanden and Zapolsky would not allow their children's names to be used in this story because they fear people who prey on children.
voting record), D-G a, and David Nelson, who starred in the sitcom "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," also have been stopped at airports because their names ma tch those on the lists. The government has sought to improve its process for checking passengers since the Sept. The first attempt was scuttled because of fe ars the government would have access to too much personal information. But for now, airlines still have the duty to check passengers' names agai nst those supplied by the government. That job has become more difficult since the 2001 attacks the lists have swelled from a dozen or so name s to more than 100,000 names, according to people in the aviation indust ry who are familiar with the issue. They asked not to be identified by n ame because the exact number is restricted information. Not all those names are accompanied by biographical information that can more closely identify the suspected terrorists. That can create problems for people who reserve flights under such names as "T Kennedy" or "Davi d Nelson." ACLU lawyer Tim Sparapani said the problem of babies stopped by the no-fl y list illustrates some of the reasons the lists don't work. "We know names are added hastily, and when you have a name-based system you don't focus on solid intelligence leads. You focus on names that are similar to those that might be suspicious." The Transportation Security Administration, which administers the lists, instructs airlines not to deny boarding to children under 12 or select them for extra security checks even if their names match those on a l ist. Debby McElroy, president of the Regional Airline A ssociation, said: "Our information indicates it happens at every major a irport."
TSA has a "passenger ombudsman" who will investigate individual claims from p assengers who say they are mistakenly on the lists. TSA spokeswoman Yola nda Clark said 89 children have submitted their names to the ombudsman. Of those, 14 are under the age of 2 If the ombudsman determines an individual should not be stopped, addition al information on that person is included on the list so he or she is no t stopped the next time they fly. Clark said even with the problems the lists are essential to keeping airl ine passengers safe.
The informati on contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewr itten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associ ated Press.
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