Strollerderby : airport security

Kid Flies Across Country And No One Notices

JeanneSager — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:25:00 GMT

If it sounds like a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan flick that's popular on date night, you're not far off. A boy used his father's credit card, hopped a plane and was across the country before anyone had missed him.

Only this kid wasn't looking for a lady love for dad. And he went in the opposite direction (East Coast to West rather than Seattle to New York). Oh yeah, and this wasn't a movie.

The thirteen-year-old was a real live boy who stole Dad's car during the night (while he was sleeping), drove thirty miles to an airport and THEN boarded a plane for parts unknown.

Kenton Weaver flew from Florida, where he lives with his father, to California, where his mother lives. But no one one the flight said a word. It wasn't until Weaver was at a ticket counter in California that the boy (who reportedly falls somewhere on the autism spectrum - making this all the more incredible) was found by some sort of authority.

His mom, Kim Casey, says Kenton is extremely bright but his Asperger's means he lacks common sense and inhibitions that would probably have kept other kids from pulling off this kind of feat. But that's another reason the boy's father, Dale Weaver, is shocked no one noticed a thirteen-year-old on a cross-continental flight. Not only did he not have ID, but Dale said his son can be a handful.

Kenton is OK - that's the best part of this story. And apparently has dreams of being a pilot, so a ride in an airplane was probably the highlight of his day, week, month. . .

But how does this make you feel about so-called airport security? Are they so focused on making us take our shoes off and trashing our tweezers that they're missing the big picture? Like thirteen-year-old kids with no ID getting on planes alone?

Image: eFitness

Family Forgets 18-Month-Old At Airport

Amy S.F. Lutz — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:30:00 GMT

There's a reason why flight attendants always remind passengers to make sure they have all their belongings before disembarking: people are forgetful, and easily distractible. So forgetful that maybe those stewardesses should start reminding them to make sure they have everything before they get back ON the plane. You know, layovers can be so chaotic, with everyone rushing around to eat, maybe make some phone calls, use the restroom, that it's easy to lose track of important things like your passport, your visa . . . and your children?

That's what happened to a Filipino family yesterday. The family was emigrating to Winnipeg, and got off the plane during a layover in Vancouver. The boy's parents and grandparents weren't sitting together on the plane, and when they boarded again, each pair assumed the toddler was with the other pair.

And basically, they didn't realize they left their kid wandering around the Vancouver airport until airline employees found the boy - who, because he was a lap child, had no boarding pass or other identification - and cleverly used passenger manifests to figure out who he must be, and contacted the pilot.

Once the plane landed, the father immediately flew back to Vancouver to get the boy.

What's Filipino for "oops"?

Airport Insecurity? Boy, 9, Flies Alone, Ticketless

Karen Murphy — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:17:00 GMT

A Seattle boy, 9, hopped two Southwest Airlines flights this week. By himself. Without a ticket. That's right, and he made it through airline security to do so. Twice.

Semaj Booker's Seattle - Dallas odyssey began on Sunday when he stole a neighbor's car that had been left running and made off for the airport only to be given chase by authorities. Semaj was apprehended and taken back to his mother after county juvenile officials refused to admit him because of his age. He later escaped and somehow made his way to Sea-Tac, where he lied his way onto an airplane and again in Phoenix where he changed planes. Semaj was foiled by a second attempt to change planes in San Antonio, and never made it to his destination of Dallas before airline workers finally were clued in that something was amiss and that his story didn't check out.

As a former frequent flyer previously married to a pilot for a major airline, I can attest to the vagaries of the airport security system, and I have seen the system change radically since 9/11. Granted, Semaj Booker doesn't sound like the typical 9-year-old, but still this story boggles my mind and I cannot fathom how one smart 9-year old was able to lie his way onto two airplanes, successfully eluding the multiple checks and balances that are present in the system, not once but twice. I will say, however, that security practices do not seem to be uniform among all domestic airports: some are known to be "easier" or "harder" than others.

Which brings me to this somewhat-tongue-in-cheek yet thought-provoking post at The Stranger's Slog. Isn't it time that TSA quit chasing little fires like whether fluids are in or out of ziploc bags and in what size bottles, and what people's shoes are made of (not to mention the indignity of taking them on and off repeatedly), and wanding every random 100th person whether they fit the "profile" or not, and address what the real threat is? Until that threat is understood, it will continue to exist. All this fear-mongering is not helping anyone, and is actually hurting an already-ailing and bloated airline industry. Take a page out of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport's (long regarded the SAFEST airport in the world) security measures handbook, and use it.

Strollerderby : airport security

Kid Flies Across Country And No One Notices

Mom Uses Breastfeeding as Weapon in Custody Battle

iPhone Making Parents Everywhere More Helpless?

Family Forgets 18-Month-Old At Airport

Airport Insecurity? Boy, 9, Flies Alone, Ticketless