Comments for Howto: Get Your Name Off The No-Fly List

Howto: Get Your Name Off The No-Fly List

2007-02-23T04:28:56Z

The Department of Homeland Security has finally woken up, and now admits that the No-Fly List has its problems.

The list (a mishmash of multiple lists, actually) has plenty of bugs. Perhaps most famously, Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy was kept off of airplanes, because someone with the same name was a suspected terrorist.

Getting your name removed from the list has, until now, been a painstaking and thankless task, with no guarantee of success. That's supposed to improve now, via a simplified online "redress procedure," which naturally comes with a government-ese acronym. It's the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP). Get it? "Trip"? Alright then.

If you're on the list, you can visit the DHS TRIP site and get the ball rolling. It's unclear how long it takes to see real action, but in theory you should hear back within days, rather than the months it used to take. — MARK ASHLEY

DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program [Department of Homeland Security]
(Photo: RussellReno)

Comment from jamesodba on 2008-01-09

2008-01-10T00:18:34Z

I would like to know how it is possible that there are over 70,000 (last I saw) names on the no fly watch list? If all these names are people that need to be prevented from flying then why isn't the FBI busy 24/7 either arresting these "terrorists" before they act or taking them off the list?

Comment from MR_MURPH on 2007-05-02

2007-05-03T04:29:23Z

I applied for trip about 3 weeks ago. The web site says my application has been reviewed and a assment has been made. I was supposed to get a snail mail letter telling me the results. As of yet I haven't recieved a letter. Anybody else apply if so how long did it take?

Comment from mad_oak on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T02:07:01Z

LOVE THE PIC!!! IF YOU PULL THE BANDAID OFF HIS WRIST, DOES HE DEFLATE?

Comment from superbmtsub on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T21:14:37Z

What if Dick Cheney's name was on the No-Fly list? It would be a dream. In the real world, the bad guys always win - Bush (clown leader), Osama (killer), Cheney (bestbud shooter), Kim Jong (despot), Saddam Hussein (You cant prosecute him. He's a symbol now).

Comment from B on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T19:38:15Z

Step 1: Change name to Cat Stevens.

Comment from Xoke on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T10:55:30Z

A few years back I was flying some internal flights in the US and was picked for extra security checks every single time (and I mean every single flight - about 6 in total in a row). I was talking to one of the TSA guys who seemed quite nice and approachable and he said it was because I was flying alone one-way.

Don't know if that was actually why or not but it's been the only time I've been subject to extra checks on internal flights. Even flying into the country I didn't have any hassle (well apart from once but the TSA agent was ... well lets just say the offspring of a pony and a horse). So it looks like it's about right.

Comment from Greasy Thumb Guzik on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T10:51:48Z

Will this mean that David Nelson, brother of Ricky, son of Ozzie & Harriet will be able to fly again?

Comment from Moonshine Mike on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T09:30:55Z

I know two John Gilmores, one of which is the "terraist" and the other who is a retired airline executive. It's been amusing.

Comment from Coronagold on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T07:31:54Z

@bones:

Trust me, Ted Kennedy doesn't need Bush to make his life more complicated than the rest of the population. It's ingrained.

Comment from Macroy on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T06:53:10Z

@lore: I was just about to comment to this effect. Great episode!

Comment from lore on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T06:41:59Z

There was a great Boston Legal episode about this. It was hilarious. William Shatner's character couldn't fly for the same reason as Ted Kennedy: a terrorist had his name.

Comment from bones on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T06:27:15Z

Does anyone truthfully believe there is a terrorist somewhere in the world named Senator Ted Kennedy? Or could it just be the Bush outfit making the lives of prominent democrats miserable?

Comment from something_amazing on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T05:35:26Z

er... I had made a followup comment about needing to snailmail in the forms, but I'm an idiot and it's not showing up. Anywho, if you read it closer you can fax or email in digital copies. Too bad it doesn't submit the final form for you via the web, though. Guess it needs the drivers license/whatever scan.

Comment from something_amazing on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T05:30:34Z

Also note that you have to mail in snail mail form to complete the process. So much for it taking days.

Comment from something_amazing on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T05:26:04Z

Don't forget the no-fly list isn't necessarily literal. Sometimes it just indicates that you *always* get searched. There are a lot of variables included in the procedure.