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TSA To Get Picky About Airline Passenger Names

Travelers Must Use Exact Name When Buying Tickets

POSTED: 12:52 pm MDT May 31, 2009
UPDATED: 8:38 pm MDT May 31, 2009

The next time you book a flight, make sure your name on the ticket is exactly the same as your ID.

Otherwise it could take some time to get on the plane.

The federal Transportation Security Administration is introducing a requirement that passenger names on tickets be exactly the same as the name on a government issued ID, reported the Denver Post.

The move is designed to reduce the amount of travelers incorrectly identified with names similar to those on terrorist watch lists.

"We're doing some testing now, but we won't roll out the first phase until August," Frontier Airlines spokesman Steve Snyder told the Post.

About 58,000 travelers have filed complaints with TSA’s Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, claiming in many cases they were denied or delayed boarding because of watch-list problems, or were chosen for secondary screening.

Elizabeth Davis of Boulder is one example of a passenger who might be delayed with the new rules.

Her ticket read "Elizabeth Davis" but her driver's license says "Elizabeth Van R. Davis."

"It's going to take time for people to get used to this," Davis said told the Post. "They need to have a little leniency."

Chris McLaughlin, TSA’s newly named federal security director at DIA, told the Post that misidentifications “happen on a daily basis.”

"I've learned that if security is not working well, the airline industry cannot succeed," McLaughlin told the Post.

The 400,000 people on a consolidated terrorist watch list is divided into a no-fly and a selectee list, to separate those who should not be allowed to fly and those who are selected for a second screening.

The no-fly and selectee lists include a total of about 16,000 people, with the smaller no-fly list made up of fewer than 2,500 individuals, TSA spokeswoman Carrie Harmon told the Post.

The second phase of Secure Flight could be implemented in late summer, travelers will be asked to list their date of birth and gender as well as the full name on the government-issued IDs.

The program aims to eliminate 99 percent of the misidentification of travelers.

"I just think things are getting a little bit ridiculous," said Martha Carr, a Denver resident whose ticket did not list her middle name. "We flew into Oklahoma City in March, and I had my great-grandbaby with me, and I had to pull off his shoes! I think we're taking things too far with all this... and I certainly hope I wouldn't miss a flight because of it."
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