My flight to MKE was unremarkable in everyway. I checked in on line, went through security without a hitch, had the same crabby flight attendants and voila, landed safely in MKE. This morning is a different issue.
So I leave DR last night and head to Chicago. I’ve got meetings in Louisville today and tomorrow and thought that was the best way to make the trip. I stayed at a hotel and headed to ORD early this AM.
I get to ORD 2.5 hours before my flight. I go to the kiosk to get my ticket and get a message that I must see an agent! Well, at Ohare, seeing an agent is not an easy task. They are always understaffed and never seem to figure out what their big flying days are to get additional people lined up.
After an HOUR, I got to an agent. She promptly informed me that I had been place on the flight security watch list!
Huh?
Folks, many of you met me yesterday. For those who haven’t, I’m male, middle age, as caucasian as they come. My last name is of the most serious German heritage one could want. Either this is a big screw up by UAL or something has seriously changed in the past 24 hours.
I’m not a conspiracy theorist, although I did see a black helicopter at the airport this AM, but do you think the Obama administration is again finding ways to overreact so that “The One” isn’t made to look stupid again?
Stay tuned!
Update: Saw this article in the USAtoday while on my flight….I wonder if this had anything to do with my new status? I read another article that said the new rules went into effect at midnight…would at least explain why I was able to fly yesterday unmolested! USATODAY
Two thoughts.
I missed meeting you? I might have braved the smoke if I’d known you’d be there!
About flying: The same thing happened to my girlfriend’s husband. He travels on a either a British or Irish (EU) passport. She thinks it’s his dual passport standing, but I think it’s because he travels so light.
He’s often one to head to an airport without luggage. They have another place in Arizona, so everything they need is already there.
Could this be part of your scenario? Some well-meaning agent could have tagged you because of your “appearance” as a traveler.
Bottom line: they have a huge amount of power over us, these agents. I have learned to treat them with more reverence than our parish priest.
Nothing that I can point to would cause them to view me as any kind of a threat. I have luggage, by in advance with CC etc. I only have 1 passport and would be happy to show it to anyone who asks.
I’m making inquiries, we’ll see what I can find out.
Re: DR, yes, wish you had made it. It was great to put faces with names and IP addresses!
Are you kidding?? THIS is how they react? You should have saved your White Elephant gift for the airport! I’ll be curious to see this unfold.
Call me politically incorrect (because usually I am) but when in the world will the powers that be realize that they need to start profiling? *shaking head*
I used one last night in my hotel room and am carrying the other two for this evening. Maybe if I’d have offered one to the gate agent?
Yup. I kinda thought you looked snaky. Notice how I left without saying Happy New Year?
Yup.
The odd itinerary (O’Hare to Nashville with a return to Minneapolis) probably flagged you.
I got flagged only once – back in 2007 going from O’Hare to Las Vegas on a last-minute purchase of a near-red-eye ticket. Thanks in part to construction and in part to a meeting I had to make at least the first part of, I got there only a hour before the flight, so I was already a bit behind the 8-ball. Then the TSA had a false positive indication for explosives on my laptop case (quickly deduced as a false positive). Fortunately, I still made the gate with about 15 minutes to spare because it was a near-red-eye flight.
Crap! Are they gonna pull this nonsense on us when we fly to Jamaica on the 20th? Yeah, like we’re such major threats….two old people, winging off with suntan lotion, and plus sized bathing suits. Uh huh. When will they EVER get their act together????
If they can nail Shoebox despite only a few dozen people knowing who he is, you have no hope.
I guess I’ll be driving to DC this year.
[…] case you missed the travails of Shoebox’s attempts to travel the last couple days, he somehow got slapped onto one of TSA’s watch […]