crimethink
22nd December 2017, 06:39 PM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/12/22/yes-tsa-is-still-getting-confused-by-district-of-columbia-drivers-licenses/?utm_term=.8e07e0e34af4
Just in time for the peak holiday travel season, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) is issuing a not-so-friendly reminder to Transportation Security Administration officers.
Yes, the District of Columbia is a real place. Yes, it’s in the United States. And yes, D.C. residents can use their D.C. driver’s licenses to travel through airport security.
In a letter sent to TSA Administrator David Pekoske this week, Norton said she was dismayed to learn that D.C. residents are still encountering problems at airport security using their licenses to board domestic flights.
She described the latest episode as “humiliating.”
According to Norton’s letter, a D.C. resident was stopped in the TSA line at Newark Liberty International Airport at Thanksgiving.
“The TSO [transportation security officer] refused to accept her District license as a valid form of ID,” Norton said. “It is my understanding that other TSOs came over and discussed whether it was valid before letting her through, although the resident nearly missed her flight as a result.”
Mishaps related to the District’s licenses first arose in 2013, after the design of the ID cards were changed from saying “Washington, D.C.” to “District of Columbia.” The alteration was made so the design of the licenses would conform with the official, charter-enshrined name of the District.
Since then, TSA agents charged with checking passengers’ IDs have occasionally rejected the cards featuring the new design. At times, those agents appeared unaware that “District of Columbia” was the origin of the “D.C.” abbreviation.
Just in time for the peak holiday travel season, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) is issuing a not-so-friendly reminder to Transportation Security Administration officers.
Yes, the District of Columbia is a real place. Yes, it’s in the United States. And yes, D.C. residents can use their D.C. driver’s licenses to travel through airport security.
In a letter sent to TSA Administrator David Pekoske this week, Norton said she was dismayed to learn that D.C. residents are still encountering problems at airport security using their licenses to board domestic flights.
She described the latest episode as “humiliating.”
According to Norton’s letter, a D.C. resident was stopped in the TSA line at Newark Liberty International Airport at Thanksgiving.
“The TSO [transportation security officer] refused to accept her District license as a valid form of ID,” Norton said. “It is my understanding that other TSOs came over and discussed whether it was valid before letting her through, although the resident nearly missed her flight as a result.”
Mishaps related to the District’s licenses first arose in 2013, after the design of the ID cards were changed from saying “Washington, D.C.” to “District of Columbia.” The alteration was made so the design of the licenses would conform with the official, charter-enshrined name of the District.
Since then, TSA agents charged with checking passengers’ IDs have occasionally rejected the cards featuring the new design. At times, those agents appeared unaware that “District of Columbia” was the origin of the “D.C.” abbreviation.