Slate: Airport Security Loophole

[crispini]

Well, this is alarming:

The Homeland Security Department's No-Fly List has always seemed a bit absurd to me. Only the stupidest terrorist would try booking a flight under his own name (or his known aliases) three years after the 9/11 attacks, and one thing I hope we've all learned is that our most dangerous enemies aren't stupid.

But even if you assume the No-Fly List serves an important purpose, the system as it presently operates contains a gaping, dangerous loophole that makes the list nearly useless. It's a loophole so obvious, it occurred to me the first time I held it in my hand. And believe me, if I can figure it out, any terrorist worth his AK-47 realized it a long time ago.

more...

http://www.slate.com/id/2113157/

[baba]

1. Scary. n/t

[MidwestTransplant]

2. I thought of this but in a different capacity.

If you have a ticket you can't use but can transfer it to a friend or family member this way.

[RobertSeattle]

3. Alot of the Airport Security is just eyewash

Perception is 99% of the game.

[Us vs Them]

4. No-Fly list is sketchy at best

Going by the arguments in this article made by the unnamed airport security personnel, if one can manage to scam their way around the No-Fly list they still have to pass other security screening including x-rays, metal detectors, and (rather arbitrarily applied) chemical explosive agent tests. If this is the case, why is there a No-Fly list in the first place, and how can we make sure those whose names can be found on it really do pose an imminent threat to airline security, given the confidence our own staff apparently shows in the screening procedures?

Is the No-Fly list really just a scare tactic? Should we be concerned about one day appearing on it? I've already read articles of innocent American citizens being unjustly sanctioned by this list based on coincidence alone. As the administration continues to cut funding for alternative means of long distance travel (ie: Amtrak) this may be an increasingly disturbing, but common situation.