Airport Security Rife With ‘Watchlist Misidentification Issues’

Travel Blog • Elyse Franko • 09.02.08 | 9:33 AM ET

New York Times columnist Joe Sharkey reports on the complete disorder of government security watchlists. These include the national no-fly list, for those who are “known security threats,” and a secondary list for people whose names match records from police databanks and other security forces. The problem is, if any criminal on record has your name, you could encounter trouble at security checkpoints—and for “security” purposes, you probably won’t be able to get off the list any time soon, even if you’ve proven your own innocence.

According to Sharkey, the F.B.I.-run selectee list is “the chief source of complaints and derision because it contains many names that belong to young children, members of Congress, nuns, war heroes, and various David Nelsons (including the one who is Ozzie and Harriet’s son).”