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TSA denies placing 18-month-old on 'no fly' list
The Transportation Security Administration is denying accusation that it placed an 18-month-old baby on its suspected terrorist list.
A pair of New Jersey residents who are of Middle Eastern descent told a Florida television station this week that their 18-month-old daughter was prohibited from boarding a plane with them at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Florida because her name was on TSA's "no fly" list.
TSA said in a statement provided to The Hill Thursday that the child was not stopped at airport security because she was on the agency's watch list.
“TSA did not flag this child as being on the No Fly list," the agency said. "TSA was called to the gate by the airline and after talking to the parents and confirming through our vetting system, TSA determined the airline had mistakenly indicated the child was on a government watch list.”
They told the station that they believed their daughter was singled by TSA officials because of their appearance.
"It's absurd," the child's father said to the TV station. "It made no sense. Why would an 18-month-old child be on a no-fly list?
"We were put on display like a circus act because my wife wears a hijab," he continued.
On its website, TSA says of its "Secure Flight" program "[I]f a passenger successfully obtains a boarding pass, his/her name is not on the No Fly List.
"If a passenger feels they have been misidentified, redress is an opportunity to seek resolution and avoid future delays," the TSA website says. "Any passenger who believes he/she has been delayed or denied boarding or delayed or denied entry into the United States at a port of entry may seek redress through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP) at www.dhs.gov/trip."
