Those of you who have flown since 9/11

[Calamity Jane]

In addition to increased security, has there been any real upgrade in what sort of ID you have to provide?

I'm trying to make reservations for my husband and daughters to fly to Seattle on Tuesday. I called a friend who is a travel agent, and she said that the kids (4 and 18 months) wouldn't be allowed to fly without certified copies of their birth certificates. I have checked several airline websites and can't find any info.

Anyone know where I could look, or what the regulations are? In the past, they've just taken my word for it that the kids are who I say they are.

 

[SexCrazedQT4U]

I flew on Sept. 20th out of LAX airport of all places.....I had my 3 year old son with me. Nobody ever once questioned me for his birth certificate. I had to just show my DL as ID everytime I boarded a new flight.
Honestly, other than having to check in 2 hours early and having to show ID, I didn't notice many other changes as far as security. Things may have changed since then.

 

[lobito]

as I pointed out in another thread, I flew internationally and domestic on Sept. 24th. I aways have my drivers license AND birth certificate wtih me when I fly.

I applaud the IDEA of increased securtiy, though it hasn't changed in real life much at all. IF the airline is asking for ID for the children too, then that to me is increased security, and that's a good thing.

I travel with ALOT of electronics as my carryon's and the fact that I wasn't asked once to turn any of them on, quite frankly disturbed me. Security simply isn't doing the job like they want you to think.

 

[Mistress]

Good question....

I have a possible future flight ahead.....
If I have to dig up 'my' birth certificate though I'm in deep shit.

 

[sexy-girl]

lisa's flown 4-5 times since its happened i dont know the details though sorry except its been taking a lot longer

 

[Mr_Neb]

I flew on the 14th, the 20th and the 21st. The 14th was a very long day. Not because of the security issues but because the airline was pretty disorganized in restarting itself.

The other days went surprisingly smooth. Check in was actually much faster. The airports were less crowded. The planes were about as full as before and every one of my flights was on time except for the 14th.

Security was different but not overly lengthy. It varies from airport to airport. In one, they opened and examined everyone's carryon and checked baggage but that was only on the 14th. All the other days, they did not open checked baggage.

Initially, only people with boarding passes were allowed past the security check point which meant that everyone had to check in at the ticket counter. Later, you could show an E-ticket confirmation or a paper ticket and you could go to the gate to check in.

Even if you walked through the X-ray and did not "beep", they wanded you anyway. The pen in my shirt pocket and the few coins in my pants pocket made the wand beep. I had to take them out and show them. Even after that, they patted down my legs and asked me to turn my belt buckle around so they could see the back. That only happened on the 14th.

On every one of those days I got to the airport about 2 hours ahead of time and in every case, my check in was about 15 minutes. On two occasions I make earlier flights.

Hope this helps.

Mr. Neb

 

[LadyDarkFire]

If you use E-Tickets, you need your itinerary or printed verification that the tickets were issued and your DL. I flew on the 27th and the 30th, both involved going through LAX. I would recommend, if making plane switches, leaving a little extra time in between at the airport, just to be safe. Generally, it went smooth, although I had some delays due to Marine Layer, and everytime I got on the plane after having them unload us, we all had our DLs out, although nobody asked for them. The main problem that I saw on time was the metal detectors, and that was only at OAK. However, in San Diego, I was flying at night on a flight that was barely 75% full, and they were having people go through the metal detector, and then removing all coats and jackets, then doing a general sweep with a hand held metal detector. Advice to women: If you are wearing a bra, I would recommend sports bras, or another sort that does not have metal. (The hooks on my bra, and the strap adjustments on another lady's set off the handhelds)