At a recent congressional hearing on problems faced by citizens mistakenly put on Transportation Security Agency "no fly" lists, Senator Edward Kennedy unleashed a bombshell:

     Kennedy had personally been denied boarding on airplanes five times, despite being a U.S. Senator! Further, it took him three weeks to get off the list, despite having called and talked to Tom Ridge, head of Homeland Security, personally.

     The reason Kennedy was put on the list was that a suspected terrorist had allegedly used his name as an alias. You would think that airport security would be able to tell the difference between a fake and real Edward Kennedy, given that Senator Kennedy has one of the best known faces in America. He has also been taking the same flight between Boston and Washington, D.C. for the past 42 years. But no, the computer said not to allow anyone with his name to board.

     Rep. John Lewis of Georgia had even more problems. He had problems boarding planes 35 times and has generally been treated like a criminal at airports. It took him months to get the problem resolved. If you don't have Senator Kennedy's or Rep. Lewis' political clout, you will find it much more difficult and even impossible to get off a no-fly list once you are mistakenly put on.

     Approximately 20,000 people are now on official "no-fly" lists. Being put on a no-fly list can have serious repercussions for your life and career. It could mean you won't be able to visit your relatives, complete travel required for your business, and it could even mean being stranded half-way around the world with no money, because some computer says you have a name similar to that used by some scummy terrorist.

     Compounding the problem is the fact that Homeland Security refuses to tell passengers if they are on a list before they show up at the airport, won't make public the criteria for putting people on its no-fly list, and hasn't published any information on how to get off a list if you are mistakenly put on.

     More and more ordinary citizens are ending up on no-fly lists. One Alaskan military officer was put on the list because the first three letters of his last name – MOU – were the same as the first three letters of a last name of some suspected terrorist. A 70-year-old Catholic nun was put on the list apparently because she edited an anti-war newspaper. Asset-forfeiture attorney Brenda Grantland ended up on the list, and so did a Los Angeles comic famous for his anti-Bush jokes.

     Under the current chaotic system, lists also vary from airport to airport, so you could, for example, be allowed to fly across the country or to another country, but not allowed to board a return flight. (Yes, U.S. allies are also being strong-armed into using TSA lists.) These lists are also now used on trains and cruise ships. Tens of thousands of people are already on these lists, many if not most apparently by mistake, and even worse is planned.

     Two years ago, the Department of Transportation announced a vast expansion of pre-flight passenger screening, known as CAAPSII (Computer Assisted Airline Passenger Screening system). Under CAAPSII every U.S. citizen who flies was to be assigned a green, yellow or red "travel code" based upon criminal, financial and medical records. A green code meant you would be allowed to travel like normal. A yellow code meant you were subject to repeated searches of your luggage and you personally, possibly including degrading "body cavity" searches. A red code meant you would not be allowed to travel, period. When I first heard about CAAPSII, I guessed that at most 10,000 or 20,000 people would be yellow or red-coded. Boy was I wrong!

     Last year, the Transportation Security Agency announced that up to 7% of the entire adult U.S. population would eventually be yellow-coded, and 1% to 2% would be red-coded. That's a mind-boggling twenty million people! That created so much consternation that Congress blocked funding and now CAAPSII is officially on hold, pending further study. However, "no-travel" lists continue to expand and up to 4% of all passengers are now getting extra security scrutiny at airports, ports, and train stations, including luggage searches and even police interviews.

What can you do if you are put on a no-travel list?
First, you can order your tickets under a different variation of your name. Rep. John Lewis solved his travel problems by changing the name on his ticket reservations to "John R. Lewis." "The 'R" is the only thing that has been saving me," Lewis said.

     Thus if your name is John Quinton Smith, instead of getting tickets under the name "John Smith" get tickets in the name "John Q. Smith" or "J. Quinton Smith." Amazingly according to the Washington Post, that may be all it takes to get you through security – and it's also a good reason to abandon this absurd system before it spreads. (See Sara Kehaulani Goo, "Hundreds Report Watch-List Trials," Washington Post, 8-21-04, p. A08.)

     Second, if that doesn't work, you can file a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security ombudsman. Expect to wait a long time. Some 250 complaints are now pending, people I've talked to who have put on these lists say it is virtually impossible to get off.

      Several lawsuits are now pending to force the TSA to adopt a more reasonable and rapid procedure for those mistakenly blocked from traveling. I certainly hope they succeed. However, my solution is much more simple and direct:

Scrap no-travel lists now. Terrorists travel on fake documents anyway, which can easily be obtained in dozens of countries – like Egypt, Iran, Morroco, Syria, China and even Mexico. Blocking hundreds of thousands or millions of Americans from traveling will do more damage to the U.S. economy and cause far more devastation to the lives of innocent people than terrorist hijackers who don't play by our rules.

     Instead of inconveniencing millions of honest Americans we need to adopt security measures that spot real terrorists and end TSA-foot dragging on arming airline pilots and crew so they can fight back.

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