Delta Isn't Sure Whether Or Not You Can Fly Without ID
A Delta customer service representative assured Grace that her sister would be able to fly, even though she had just lost her wallet containing her identifications. Of course, when Grace's sister arrived the next morning at the airport, Delta's counter agents refused to let her anywhere near the gate until she produced a photo ID. After two hours on the phone, Grace's parents tracked down an old learner's permit and drove 20 miles to fax a copy to the airport. Now Grace wants to know why Delta's customer service agents weren't familiar with Delta's policies, and what, if anything Delta can do to compensate her for the wasted time.
Grace writes:
My weekend got stressful when my sister, who was visiting for her spring break, realized that she had lost her wallet, including all her ID cards. She'd moved around a lot, so we hoped it would turn up, but I immediately called Delta Airlines to see what we could do if she didn't have a photo ID for her flight the next morning.I went through their normal customer service lines, entered her confirmation number, and was put on hold for several minutes before getting through to a CSR. I explained that my sister had lost her wallet and photo ID, and we wanted to know what we could do to make sure she could still fly. I expected this would be a somewhat unusual request, but the CSR didn't pause - he told me she would be able to fly with no problems as long as she had something like a credit card or bank statement in her name, and it would help if someone else was at the airport to vouch for her.
You can see where this story goes.
We got to the airport as early as we could using public transportation. The Delta counters weren't very busy, and we approached a Delta representative, bank statement in hand, to explain the unusual situation. Her response: you cannot fly without a photo ID. She was not phased when I explained that the Delta CSR had explicitly told me that my sister would be fine, and when I started to ask to speak to someone else she cut me off, saying that she was the supervisor.
From there the people I worked with at the Delta counters were fairly accommodating. I asked about the possibility of using a faxed copy of an old ID, and they set me up with a fax number, but that just meant that my sister and I spent a frantic two hours waking people up in her dorm and at home to search for an old school ID, learner's permit, anything. Luckily, my parents found an old ID, drove 20 miles at 7:00 AM to the nearest 24-hour fax, and my sister made her flight.
I recognize that my sister was at fault for losing her ID in the first place, and that everything worked out in the end. But I cannot come to terms with the fact that a Delta CSR gave me the wrong information, and that the Delta workers were neither surprised nor apologetic. If the CSR hadn't known the policy for traveling without an ID, he should have checked with a supervisor. If the policy was at all unclear, he should never have confidently told me that my sister would be fine with just a bank statement. What did he expect would happen when we showed up to the airport?
I'm contacting Delta to seek compensation for the money spent on copies, faxes, and airport wireless in our frantic attempt to sort things out. (I'm not optimistic.) I wish my family could be compensated for the stress of dealing with the situation at the last-minute.
Most importantly, I want to be sure that Delta clarifies their policies among their workers. I usually assume that when a CSR explicitly tells you something, it will be true. If that's not the case, customers have no chance of knowing what's going on.
Thanks for listening, and for providing such a useful forum for consumer complaints!
The TSA requires all travelers to produce a valid ID, unless you don't have one, in which case you can "provide information to the Transportation Security Officer performing Travel Document Checking duties in order to verify their identity."
RELATED: ID Requirements for Airport Checkpoints [TSA]
(Photo: zieak)
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Comments:
This has pretty much been the rule of flying for many many years now. Always take an ID card with you.
My question is why, if she lost her wallet, did she not have someone send her a copy of an ID while she was on vacation? Was there just not enough time to do so?
When I arrived at the airport last summer to return to DCA from Detroit, I realized I forgot my wallet. All I had was my boarding pass. I told the TSA worker and they pulled me aside. I told them I was running late and really needed to get through quickly, if possible. The TSA worker quickly ran around and got the paper that I had to fill out. I only needed to put my full name, address, and phone number. No ss# or anything. I was worried because I live in VA but my drivers license is Michigan issued, however, I put down my local VA address. The TSA worker made a quick call to verify the information and I was let through security. All of this took about 15 minutes. I was shocked at how quickly and easily I got through, especially without providing my ss# or any other personal information.
The bad news - I still missed my flight. However, they did re-book me the next morning in 1st class.
arcticJKL is right, TSA does not require ID (a little-known fact, I know). I've actually flown myself a few times without proper ID due to a mix-up in booking a flight in my married name right after my wedding, without having had a chance to update my driver's license. There is just a more exhaustive security check done.
I am with you - seek compensation of some sort for making a workable situation almost unbearable (and if I were you, I'd go right to the top - CSAs don't have a vested interest in how things turn out for you but you better believe corporate executives do). I find it ridiculous that many companies aren't providing better customer service these days in the current economic crisis. Don't they know that carries almost as much weight is the product they are selling?
I last flew in March 2002 and my license had been stolen along with my wallet. I used my college ID and a government health insurance card as ID and didn't have a problem, which is surprising considering it was so soon after 9/11. I replaced my license as soon as I got back, but was unable to do so before the trip since here, the DMV is only on certain days and you have to fill out an affadavit and get it notarized before they will replace your license.
* I meant to say the DMV is only open on certain days. I would have replied to my own comment, but my reply button is on the fritz.
I don't think she really should get much. This happens all the time. I think what Delta should give her is a notice saying that they changed their policy so that everyone has to have an I.D., no questions asked. When I fly I carry my passport (even in the U.S.) and I put a high-resolution color copy in my carry on, and in my checked luggage. It is good advice to travelers (also pack a change of clothes in your carry on, for when they lose your luggage).
The TSA paged linked to fails to explain what information needs to be provided (so one can arrange to get it) to the TSO. For example, would a copy of a police report regarding a stolen wallet/purse be sufficient information?
I'm always amazed at how some people feel they need compensation for stress in these kinds of situations. She got onto her flight, what else is needed to "make her whole"?
Why in the word did she call Delta,they aren't responsible for stupidity.Any collateral damage this kid caused needs to be taken out of her purse. Gee!
And now we all understand why you should always have a copy of two forms of ID in your carryon along with a toothbrush and some underwear, right?
ALWAYS have duplicates of your ID somewhere separate from your cash, etc. Not having ID makes a lot of things really, really impossible. Don't mess with it.
@Skaperen: The TSA is only interested in properly identifying her, not in why her ID is missing, so no a police report is not going to help. Anything that might help identify her would be - work or school ID, utility bill, etc. Barring that, the TSA can handle ID-less passengers - it just requires a more thorough check. Delta should have referred the issue to TSA... they've got to deal with a dozen cases of this everyday.
@Nathaniel Burns: Because sending her a notice resolves the problem they caused for her? If they'd properly informed her at the time, she'd have taken the appropriate steps to fly.
@Nathaniel Burns: What happens all the time? Getting bad info from a CSR? Or that employees make up imaginary "new policies" on the spur of the moment?
Or is it that people lose stuff all the time, and therefore it makes no sense to have an iron rule that no one can fly without an ID. Furthermore, as noted, although the TSA really prefers you to have a fed- or state-issued ID, there is IMO no good reason for the airlines to demand ID, except that they want to prevent ticket resale.
@Pylon83: She outlined what she would like - compensation for the stuff they had to pay to get her on the flight like fax fees and wifi etc.
in which case you can "provide information to the Transportation Security Officer performing Travel Document Checking duties in order to verify their identity."
From the article. Sounds like exactly what she was going to do, but Delta wouldn't let her.
I've flown with nothing but an expired driver's permit before...
@Skaperen: You probably don't need to bring anything special. I flew without ID last summer, and the TSA (to whom I was very polite) gave me a little quiz about my life: after they got my citizen number, they asked me where I grew up, who else lived at my previous address, and what county I lived in then and now. This was conducted as a 3-plus-way conversation from me, to a TSA supervisor talking on a cellphone, to (as I imagine it) some TSA gnomes on the other end of the phone conversation looking at a big database of my life. It was quick, easy, and the TSA folk were nice about it. Delta, however, acted all huffy.
@coren: Right, but her parents were the ones who spent that time/gas and those fees. At what point does the airline start to be responsible for a completely different person's troubles?
oh those spring breakers....so careless. I wonder which video of girls gone wild she'll be in where they show some guy taking her wallet from her purse....
but anyways, it's common knowledge that you need an ID to get through security, not just to board a delta plane.
so this person has no common sense and the delta rep needs to be trained to say "you cant get past security without a photo ID"
It's not a new rule.
Nearly every US-based airline prohibits employees from talking about internal security procedures. This includes not only passengers, but employees of other airlines, airport operations, and baggage handlers. For an airline the size of Delta, it would not surprise me at all if part of their security plan specifically calls for providing a passenger with conflicting information to see how they react and judge their character. Bottom line is that it is up to the carrier (Comair, ASA, Delta mainline) to decide if you fly, not the TSA.
Assuming this was a domestic flight, your compensation is very clearly spelled out in your contract with Delta. I am also assuming you did not modify this contract in writing with a Delta officer (see Rule 1, section D on page 2). According to Rule 35, Part C (page 10), Delta can remove a px from their aircraft at any time for refusing to provide proof of identity.
Be grateful for being allowed to fly and that Delta didn't invoke their right to remove you from the plane--at 30,000 feet.
Something very similar happened to my sister as she went o Mexico with Jetblue this last week. She has been away at college and when she came home on Friday in prep for her SUnday flight she realized her passport was expired (her fault). However, when she called Jetblue 3 times that weekend they assured here it would be OK if she brings the appropriate identification (strangely they as much as went as specifically telling her to bring a copy of her birth certificate!).
Sunday, 5 am, she arrives at the airport, Jetblue counter refuses to let her on flight no matter what their reps had previously told my sister. Her trip was delayed by 3 days...and she paid 160$ for a rushed passport..
i know it used the be the rule that either a passport or birth certificate was enough to fly to certain countries in North America... I think that got changed to passport only recently, so the phone people could have had old information. Then again you used to be able to travel to some nearby countries with just a drivers license
@supercereal When they cause it maybe?
@ceez: I believe the rule is that you can get through security without a photo ID, but you'll be subjected to a higher degree of scrutiny and additional invasive security checks.
Plus, that's the TSA checkpoint rule. Delta is probably free to set whatever crazy policies about identification that they want to.
@ceez: Actually, you can get through security without ID-you just get to play 20 questions about your life.
The no ID rule that DL is applying here has nothing to do with the TSA, security or 9/11 related stuff, it's just to keep people from reselling non-transferable tickets and then having nothing to prove that they are or aren't the person named on the ticket. If you print your boarding pass at home and don't check luggage, you'll not face any of this. When you get to TSA with no ID, you'll get a handy quad S on your boarding pass, undergo secondary screening and be on your way. This is the sad thing about DL's no-id policy, it's easily bypassed with online or kiosk check-in.
I don't think they should get compensation. So many other people are deserving of compensation from airlines, it's this kind of request that makes it impossible.
Suck it up - maybe next time your sister will be more careful.
My friends and I had a big argument where I said you didn't need ID to fly and every one said you did. A week later we were set to fly and one of my friends told them he didn't have his wallet/ID with him (to really see if it would work). They took extra time checking him and almost found his wallet in his carry on bag. Over all it probably took 5 minutes extra to get him through security. We flew out of Burbank, but its So Cal people aren't paranoid LAX security is just as nice.
@Pylon83: What else has succeeded in getting better service from airlines? Maybe if they have to pay out the ass for incompetence, they would make training and performance more of a priority.
@reflection717: No, they didn't force anyone to live 20 miles away from a fax machine. They didn't force anyone up at 7am to drive those 20 miles. If the OP is inconvenienced, then that's one story. But if that same OP feels the need to inconvenience others as a result, then that's a different story...and not the airline's problem.
First off...faxing, making copies, etc. doesn't actually cost a ton so I'm wondering how much she's expecting to get back. Even airport wireless wouldn't add up to be a ton...so I guess at most she's expecting $40? $50? According to Airport Wireless Access Guide daily internet access isn't exactly cheap, but it's not exactly a black market kidney either (or even a black market beagle).
And her parents drove 20 miles? There wasn't a Kinkos? Most of them are open 24 hours for copying/faxing needs.
I'm just saying...calling a CSR and being assured you can do something without proper ID isn't the same as having your spidey sense go off and you realizing you would be better off safe than sorry.
That said...how many forms of ID would you be able to take with you? If your license and credit cards were stolen, what else would you have on you? I mean, I would carry copies on my person and in my luggage, but what if some places don't accept copies and need real forms of ID...if you're traveling domestically, you wouldn't carry a passport. And who walks around carrying their birth certificate?
**And her parents drove 20 miles? There wasn't a Kinkos? Most of them are open 24 hours for copying/faxing needs.**
I know some people whose nearest grocery store is 10 miles, so yeah, it's entirely possible.
This happened to my sister a couple of weeks ago as well. After some mad phonecalling and tearing the house/car apart we found the wallet, but she'd missed her flight already.
The gate agent rebooked her on a flight leaving the next day for solely the cost of the difference in fare, which was actually pretty nice because they could have just said 'oh too bad you missed your flight, enjoy buying that full-fare ticket'.
I'd be really, really surprised if Delta gave her anything, although their inability to give the OP accurate information needs to be fixed.
painfullyblunt: Yeah, but there wasn't anywhere closer? It seems like the sister is playing it all up for show and stress. I've never lived in a small town, so I really don't know. I know it's absolutely feasible that it took 20 miles...but 20 miles isn't really a big deal. It's maybe...30 minutes if you're going a little less than 60 mph? I guess if they were in traffic, I suppose that would be more time.
I'm just saying that it might be crappy getting up that early to drive out to a 24 hour fax/copy place, but 20 miles is NOT as mind-numbing as the letter makes it seem.
To me, hindsight is 20/20. The wallet was lost, nothing you can do about that. And the girl didn't have extra ID or copies. Okay, lesson learned.
But the letter stops being sympathetic when the sister doesn't realize that you just can't trust the left hand to know what the right hand is doing. Customer service screw ups are everywhere. The fact that her spidey sense didn't make her aware that perhaps she should look for an old ID anyway (my family keeps copies of every single ID I have ever had, just in case) means that I have less sympathy. How many times has something like this happened?
I feel like the letter takes on a tone of entitlement...which I don't think is warranted because a lost wallet should have prompted the first step after talking to the CSR: finding alternative ID just in case.
One should be able to be admitted to the gate even under the condition that he/she has no identification whatsoever. However, his/her belonging, checked and unchecked, will be inspected under the standards of SSSS. Your boarding pass will be labeled with such tag and higher security checks will be taken place at the checkpoint.
In no circumstances should one not be allowed to fly except under the condition in which he/she is on the TSA/DHS no fly list.
@pecan 3.14159265: Yup -- that's exactly what I'm thinking. "I lost my identification, but you're inconveniencing me by asking for it. Please pay for my troubles."
I can remember flying 15 years ago and having to show ID at the ticket counter in order to get issued a boarding pass.
This isn't new, and it's done to make sure the person traveling is named on the ticket. Passenger rosters are FAA required, I believe, so this is how they verify that anyone issued a ticket is actually in the airport and planning to get on the plane.
My parents used to have to show my passport to get me a boarding pass, long before the 9/11 days. Eticketing means you can get a boarding pass without ID, but if you want to check bags, gotta have one for FAA regulations.
@pecan 3.14159265: Ya, I'd like to know what city this was exactly. I know people in BFE North Dakota who could get to a fax machine in less than 20 miles.
And for next time: Hotels generally have fax services for a fee.
I keep a PDF scanned copy of my passport stored in my gmail drafts folder (which I can access with my mobile phone), in addition to a copy on my laptop (always have with when travelling), a copy kept with relatives, and carry a copy myself. So, if I lost my passport and drivers license, especially if travelling abroad, then there are various ways I can at least have a copy of my passport.
@chatterboxwriting: That's odd. When I needed to get mine replaced after it was stolen I just went down the DMV, told them I had it stolen, they looked at a different form of ID (in this case I think it was my passport) looked me up in their system, confirming what I told them, and all was good.
@Nathaniel Burns: I was at Kinko's the other day and the person in front of me was trying to make a color copy of his passport. The Kinko's employee said that is was illegal to make a color copy of a legal document. Does anyone know if this is actually true?
@Batwaffel: It has not been the rule of flying, as both Delta and TSA allow you to prove your identity using non picture ID sources. (note: they wanted you to think a picture ID was the only way to get on a plane.)
And to answer why she didn't get the fax earlier, the girl contacted Delta to see what sources of ID she needed and they said a bank statement would suffice.
I understand that you probably didn't read the article, but that means you probably shouldn't be posting comments.
I don't know what kind of compensation they were offering but I know them giving me a food voucher would be enough for me. I had AirTran screw up the gate numbers and we missed our flight because of it and all I wanted was $10 in food vouchers because it was going to be 4 hours till the next flight but AirTran ended up writing a letter saying how sorry they were and gave me $50 for the next flight. Ever since then I am a loyal customer. If they gave her something it would make her feel whole and want to fly with Delta again it would make Delta more money in the long run. By the way having your wallet stolen from a room is very easy and I feel sorry for her.
@mpotter: No, it is not true. In fact the state department recommends you make copies and variously leave them with family back home and carry with you when you travel in case your actual one is lost or stolen.
Here is just one page where they recommend that, there are lots of others on the State Dept's website: [studentsabroad.state.gov]
I was able to fly without ID two years ago at Christmas, when I realized to my horror that I'd left it in a coat pocket at home. (It was very atypical for me to even have it in that pocket, one reason I didn't think of it leaving the house.) I don't know if it was the holiday spirit or what, but the counter agents made boarding surprisingly simple; they made me fill out a form and go through "special screening" with all the poor Arab guys trying to travel. Yeah, I had to get a somewhat invasive patdown, but on the other hand, special screening took less time than that godawful Dec. 23rd line. While I was home, I got a Xerox of my birth certificate and found it even simpler to get back.
While I don't particularly think this woman deserves extra compensation, I'd like to see Delta pay something out just because it would motivate them to get their phone agents/counter agents to know what they're doing and give out appropriate information. Yes, sometimes people are careless (I was), but as other have pointed out, people can lose their ID at the last minute for circumstances beyond their control and should at least be able to find out how screwed they are or aren't.
@supercereal: Actually, they did create the situation in which her parents were woken up at 7 AM and had to drive to the 24h fax.
If Delta had explained the situation accurately when she called the day before, she would have had more time to prepare the extra documents, alert parents, etc. The fact that they misinformed her created the stressful situation. She's definitely due compensation for the cost of the wireless use and faxes.
Im amazed at the stupidty of some people. Was your born a few hours before this flight? Basically your irresponsible sister lost her wallet which more than likely isnt the first time.
Then you expect an airline to board someone on a flight that has no ID. Did someone forget that after 9/11 all this security crap was implemented? Now you want to be compensated because the airline employee was dening your boarding because YOU HAD NO PHOTO ID TO PRODUCE.
Tell your sister I said shes a moron. You too for even writing this story on her behalf.
TSA doesnt require an ID but delta is free to create their own rules.
Those rules should be uniform for all delta employees.
Where did this take place?