What happens if you lose your driver's license and need to fly home?
Sep 15th, 2004, 09:58 AM
#1
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What happens if you lose your driver's license and need to fly home?
On Saturday night I had a nightmare that I lost my driver's license & passport and I needed to fly some somewhere the next day. I woke up in a sweat.
Well guess what...yesterday that nightmare came true.
I had to get home from DC on US Airways and lost my license at some point Monday night. I spent 1/2 this business trip making phone calls to the airport, car rental counter, hotel housekeeping and a sushi restaurant to see if they found my license. I had my boyfriend fax my passport to the hotel, twice (it never came through well enough to actually see that the photo was of me).
Well, after all of this I decided to go to the airport early to ask them what to do. They gave me a boarding pass and wrote "NO ID" on it in red. Going through security I was brought to a walled-off area where I waited while they very meticulously searched through my bags. Then I was "wanded" and patted down (female security officer...no biggie). The whole thing took maybe 5 minutes. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was VERY grateful to be allowed to fly. (In my nightmare I wasn't!)
Can anyone else share the story of what happened when they were caught at the airport without a photo ID? I wonder if the different airlines handle it differently.
Well guess what...yesterday that nightmare came true.
I had to get home from DC on US Airways and lost my license at some point Monday night. I spent 1/2 this business trip making phone calls to the airport, car rental counter, hotel housekeeping and a sushi restaurant to see if they found my license. I had my boyfriend fax my passport to the hotel, twice (it never came through well enough to actually see that the photo was of me).Well, after all of this I decided to go to the airport early to ask them what to do. They gave me a boarding pass and wrote "NO ID" on it in red. Going through security I was brought to a walled-off area where I waited while they very meticulously searched through my bags. Then I was "wanded" and patted down (female security officer...no biggie). The whole thing took maybe 5 minutes. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was VERY grateful to be allowed to fly. (In my nightmare I wasn't!)
Can anyone else share the story of what happened when they were caught at the airport without a photo ID? I wonder if the different airlines handle it differently.
Sep 15th, 2004, 10:06 AM
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This happended to me last November as I was leaving for Vegas. Got through security and was never asked for it. I realized I didn't have when I went to go into the Continental President's Club. Getting on the plane I needed to show other forms of documentation like credit cards.
Coming home, the same process except this time, as you experienced, I was asked to open my bags and wand-scanned.
If anything, much less of a hassle then I anticipated.
Coming home, the same process except this time, as you experienced, I was asked to open my bags and wand-scanned.
If anything, much less of a hassle then I anticipated.
Sep 15th, 2004, 11:06 AM
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Totally agree with Ryan.
If airport security works the way it's suppose to, what's the difference if Osama bin Laden sat next to me on the flight?
The main reason for a government issued ID is to avoid doing the cavity search on everybody. If you could prove that you are Plain Jane, the odds of you being a terroris are slim to none, especially if you are not on some list, but if you just show up with no ID, nobody knows who you are, thus the extra attention.
Picture ID is NOT a requirement to fly. This is still a free country, isn't? It makes it easier on everybody if you do have one, but nobody will force you to have one.
I don't know of any laws that require a US citizen/permanent resident to carry an ID, unless you are doing something that requires a permit (such as driving, etc.)
If airport security works the way it's suppose to, what's the difference if Osama bin Laden sat next to me on the flight?
The main reason for a government issued ID is to avoid doing the cavity search on everybody. If you could prove that you are Plain Jane, the odds of you being a terroris are slim to none, especially if you are not on some list, but if you just show up with no ID, nobody knows who you are, thus the extra attention.
Picture ID is NOT a requirement to fly. This is still a free country, isn't? It makes it easier on everybody if you do have one, but nobody will force you to have one.
I don't know of any laws that require a US citizen/permanent resident to carry an ID, unless you are doing something that requires a permit (such as driving, etc.)
Sep 15th, 2004, 11:07 AM
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Regarding how safe we'd feel knowing they let someone on with only a credit card as an ID:
yea, if they took them aside, questioned them, "searched" them, etc. I'd feel a whole late safer than the usual glance they give to the driver's license. Do we really think a terrorist isn't going to have a driver's license? I think no "self-respecting" terrorist would think of trying to board without a "proper" fake ID, so yes, I feel safer with a person who admits he doesn't have one. I can't imagine a terrorist trying to do that.
yea, if they took them aside, questioned them, "searched" them, etc. I'd feel a whole late safer than the usual glance they give to the driver's license. Do we really think a terrorist isn't going to have a driver's license? I think no "self-respecting" terrorist would think of trying to board without a "proper" fake ID, so yes, I feel safer with a person who admits he doesn't have one. I can't imagine a terrorist trying to do that.
Sep 15th, 2004, 11:57 AM
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I know using photo ID's considered routine and easily "scanable" but I always have to stiffle a little smile when I travel with my mother. Her drivers license expired over 20 years ago but she still drags that old thing and presents it as her bonafide "LEGAL ID". It also happens to be her only ID with a photo notwithstanding the 20+ years of youth she is attributed!
Sep 15th, 2004, 12:39 PM
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I agree with Patrick -- seems safer for someone who doesn't have ID but has been searched than someone with ID (possibly forged) that "passes thru".
The point of having security is to make sure the safety of the flight isn't compromised ... not verifying that passengers can drive ... altho maybe they should check the PILOTs' LICENSES. <g>
The point of having security is to make sure the safety of the flight isn't compromised ... not verifying that passengers can drive ... altho maybe they should check the PILOTs' LICENSES. <g>
Sep 15th, 2004, 12:55 PM
#10
I am the ultimate procrastinator and let my driver's license expire. For several years I drove without a license and flew several times with my Sam's Club photo ID. Then I flew from San Antonio to Mass. with my Sam's card and they didn't want to let me fly home. It took quite awhile before the clerk could get a supervisor to ok it. Supervisor never saw me or talked to me but said if they let me fly over with it he'd let me fly home with it.
I decided to go ahead and get a driver's license before anything "bad" happened. Of course, it had been expired so long that I had to take the written test (designed for 16 year old and I didn't know any of the alcohol related questions) and take the driving test. Did not get a perfect score but I did pass. Whew! This was before 9/11.
I decided to go ahead and get a driver's license before anything "bad" happened. Of course, it had been expired so long that I had to take the written test (designed for 16 year old and I didn't know any of the alcohol related questions) and take the driving test. Did not get a perfect score but I did pass. Whew! This was before 9/11.
Sep 15th, 2004, 01:17 PM
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This article in Sunday's NYT might be of interest to some...
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/nyregion/12WE.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/nyregion/12WE.html
Sep 15th, 2004, 01:24 PM
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The online article does not include the writer's own experience with having to prove who she was. She had her maiden name on her social security card and her married name on her license and she was required to report in person and prove, with her marriage certificate, that she was indeed who she said she was before they would validate her license.
Sep 15th, 2004, 01:26 PM
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Just last week I went through security checkpoint at Denver airport and showed my Fla drivers license, which is in a little plastic case. The screener noticed that the front date showed as expired (I was impressed), and I had to remove the license and turn it over and show her the sticker on the back that extends the expiration another 8 years...so jette tell your mom it's just a matter of time!
Sep 15th, 2004, 02:24 PM
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My mom is 80 years old and in a wheel chair, and has never had any type of photo ID. She has never had a driver's license and always just used her birth certificate. She hadn't traveled since before 9/11, until last summer when we took a family trip to Orlando (7 of us including 2 grandchildren). We had no trouble getting her into the U.S. but were given a hard time by the United Airlines clerk when we went to check in for our return flight. The clerk kept us waiting forever while she went through all our ID's with a fine-tooth comb (as if we would take off and leave mom in Florida by herself!). I actually think she was just annoyed because she got stuck processing a big group (I heard her groan when we stepped up to the counter). However, she did let us through when I pointed out that the U.S. let us in without the photo ID so I doubted very much that Canada would not let us back in. Of course we had no problem when we got back home. But we almost missed our flight because she delayed us for so long. My mom doesn't want to get a passport at her age so I don't know what we're going to do when we go to Hawaii.
Sep 15th, 2004, 02:48 PM
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Most states will issue a photo ID that's equivalent to a driver's license. Useful for anyone who's unable (or unwilling) to drive for any reason.
Also, the TSA (US Transportation Security Administration) does NOT require a photo ID! I had to research this quick for my daughter's friend who bought airline tix and then realized a few days in advance that he didn't have an acceptable ID. If you don't have a photo ID, the TSA requires 2 forms of ID, one of which must be government-issued, such as a social security card or a birth certificate -- items that could be expressed-mailed to you from home if you lose your other ID while traveling.
http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/e...orial_1044.xml
So grandma SHOULD be OK with her birth certificate and one other thing, even a credit card, if she doesn't want to visit the motor vehicles licensing department.
Also, the TSA (US Transportation Security Administration) does NOT require a photo ID! I had to research this quick for my daughter's friend who bought airline tix and then realized a few days in advance that he didn't have an acceptable ID. If you don't have a photo ID, the TSA requires 2 forms of ID, one of which must be government-issued, such as a social security card or a birth certificate -- items that could be expressed-mailed to you from home if you lose your other ID while traveling.
http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/e...orial_1044.xml
So grandma SHOULD be OK with her birth certificate and one other thing, even a credit card, if she doesn't want to visit the motor vehicles licensing department.
Sep 15th, 2004, 03:54 PM
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Just a quick correction to an earlier post: US Permanent Residents (not citizens) over the age of 18 ARE REQUIRED to carry their I-551 card ( Aka "Green Card") with them at ALL times.
If Grandma doesn't want to get a Driver's License, most states will also issue ID Cards. These look similar to a Driver's License, and they are great for people who do not drive, but still need a photo ID.
If Grandma doesn't want to get a Driver's License, most states will also issue ID Cards. These look similar to a Driver's License, and they are great for people who do not drive, but still need a photo ID.
Sep 15th, 2004, 05:44 PM
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Awesome info!!! Thanks. I had this happen once on a guy's trip to New Orleans when I stupidly forgot my driver's license and wasn't even going to show up at the terminal gate, but my guy friends were saying "show your Comcast work ID" - you never know! I was so pi$$ed I went all the way to the airport and forgot my freakin' ID on my big trip away for the year.
I show up at the gate, stupidly showing them my dumb Comcast picture ID and they stupidly wave me through as if I had used a passport! I was floored! I thought they really screwed up. I came home with the same ID 5 days later and no one said a word about my Comcast work ID. On my next trip I told the gate lady what happened and she said they should NOT have just let me through! Only Gov't picture ID is acceptable when you don't have a license according to her.
Steve
Maryland
I show up at the gate, stupidly showing them my dumb Comcast picture ID and they stupidly wave me through as if I had used a passport! I was floored! I thought they really screwed up. I came home with the same ID 5 days later and no one said a word about my Comcast work ID. On my next trip I told the gate lady what happened and she said they should NOT have just let me through! Only Gov't picture ID is acceptable when you don't have a license according to her.
Steve
Maryland
Sep 15th, 2004, 09:48 PM
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There are some 440 commercial airports across the nation, so chances are good that from time to time, the appropriate form of ID has not been requested of a pax, and a pax may indeed be denied boarding by the air carrier if it is not produced. For pax over 18, that means one form of picture ID issued by a state or fed. agency, or 2 forms of non-photo ID, one issued by a state or fed. agency.
This discussion about having to produce ID at the airport is quite timely. If you've been reading CNN and other news services in the past week, developments in the case of Gilmore v. Ashcroft have been reported. This is a case of a Plaintiff bringing suit against the US-the TSA, FAA and FBI to be exact, for unconstitutionally requiring him to produce an ID upon airport check-in, which he feels is an infringement on his right to travel. His case against the US was brought in federal ct. in Oakland, Calif. but was dismissed last year. Gilmore is appealing his dismissal to the federal ct. of appeals in San Fran. The Plaintiff has made this issue quite a crusade, and at various times, he has and has not been denied boarding when he has refused to produce the required ID.
Spygirl knows a fair bit about this case. The Plaintiff is the 49 year old retiree and founder of Sun Microsystems. For more information about the man and the case, see Gilmore's personal website-www.papersplease.org.
This discussion about having to produce ID at the airport is quite timely. If you've been reading CNN and other news services in the past week, developments in the case of Gilmore v. Ashcroft have been reported. This is a case of a Plaintiff bringing suit against the US-the TSA, FAA and FBI to be exact, for unconstitutionally requiring him to produce an ID upon airport check-in, which he feels is an infringement on his right to travel. His case against the US was brought in federal ct. in Oakland, Calif. but was dismissed last year. Gilmore is appealing his dismissal to the federal ct. of appeals in San Fran. The Plaintiff has made this issue quite a crusade, and at various times, he has and has not been denied boarding when he has refused to produce the required ID.
Spygirl knows a fair bit about this case. The Plaintiff is the 49 year old retiree and founder of Sun Microsystems. For more information about the man and the case, see Gilmore's personal website-www.papersplease.org.
Sep 16th, 2004, 02:56 AM
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Regarding elderly mother in wheelchair - I know she probalby considers it not necessary and annoying to get either a photo ID from RMV or passport - and she has spent most of her life not needing this sort of thing. But reality is if she is going to fly places, she will need something. And if she is OK to fly on vacation, I am assuming she could physically handle a trip to the RMV to get a photo ID. Imagine how much worse it would be to all get to the airport and be denied boarding (the person in front of us in line a month ago was denied boarding because he had no photo ID)
