Commentary

TSA won't let me go home for the holidays.

by James , November 12, 2010

I have a small rant. This comes to mind as I’m searching the airline websites for tickets to fly home for the holidays.

Last year, I purchased a ticket to fly home to Charleston, SC for Christmas. Having had a problem with a 3rd party ticket provider for my Thanksgiving flight, this time, I bought my ticket directly from the airline’s website. --More expensive, but worth the money I’d save if I needed to change my flight or get a refund. (3rd party retailers don't do refunds. guess how I know...)

After purchasing the ticket, I was notified that I could have the security check-in bar code sent to my phone so that I wouldn’t have to have a paper boarding pass. (One more reason I love my iPhone.) I took advantage of it and didn’t even think about printing a paper boarding pass. Here's what it looked like on my iPhone:

Delta Bar Code on iPhone

For reasons I can’t remember (maybe weather?) I was cutting it close at the airport. Having flown by the long line at the check-in kiosk, I was approaching the security checkpoint about 20 minutes before my flight was scheduled to depart.

When I arrived at the gate with my iPhone in hand, barcode ready for scanning, the guard asked to see my paper boarding pass. “My airline’s site said I could use the electronic barcode on my phone instead,” I explained. “We’re TSA, not your airline. You need a paper boarding pass to get through this gate. You’ll have to go back and check in at the kiosk.” Are you kidding me?

...He wasn’t kidding.

I went back to the check-in kiosk and waited my turn in line. I finally got my boarding pass and literally ran to my gate, but I missed my flight. After explaining what happened, the airline representative at the gate arranged for me to catch the next flight out at no extra cost. (whew!)

Has this happened to you? And have you tried using the electronic barcode recently? I’ll have my paper boarding pass with me this holiday season, but it would be really nice if I didn’t have to.

airlines, holiday, travel

2 comments about "TSA won't let me go home for the holidays.".

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Brad Waller from EPage, Inc., November 22, 2010 at 2:20 p.m.
I used this with American from LAX and it worked like a charm. TSA had a scanner and let me through with no problems.
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Michelle Prieb, November 23, 2010 at 9:47 a.m.

I've had good and bad luck with the e-boarding pass. It's worked properly in the past, but not in the last 6 months or so. I tested it last week and had trouble on both flights. Typically, they could scan it at security, but not at the gate. The attendants that checked my bags for both trips recommended that I have a paper boarding pass, just in case. I'd really like for it to work consistently because it would be soooo convenient, but it doesn't seem to be reliable yet.