Intelligence and Privacy

Airline Watchlists -
The Story of Retired Coast Guard Officer Larry Musarra

"On July 31, 2002 my wife and I were taking our son by plane to attend a special needs school. Unfortunately, we weren't able to check in on the Instant Ticket Machine and when the supervisor couldn't fix the problem, they told us 'I'm sorry Mr. Musarra but you are on an FBI watch list.' I reminded them that I was a retired Coast Guard Officer, who had flown in and out of the Juneau Airport for seven years. We were finally allowed on the flight after extensive screening but no-one could explain why I would be on an FBI Watch List.

In the next year we made 10 round trip flights to visit our son and we endured the same problems every time: web check-in denied; e-ticket check-in denied; hour-long waits for boarding passes; special screening. The entire Juneau High School wrestling team was held up by extra screening on each of the seven occasions that they traveled with my middle son during that period. My eldest son nearly missed flights home from college on two occasions. It was very inconvenient to fly, our trips took longer to check in, and we lost the bonus miles Alaska Airlines was offering for web check-in.

When reporters started investigating my story the TSA blamed the airline, Alaska Airlines blamed TSA, and the FBI implied that maybe I was a terrorist. The TSA even told one reporter that her article was helping the other side! After rampant finger-pointing, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal finally got to the bottom of the story. Alaska Airlines was using an outdated name matching system that was developed decades ago for totally different purposes. I even received all my web check-in miles after another article that was printed in our local paper. The irony of the situation is that during this period, the TSA, which already employs a few of my fellow retired 'Coasties,' offered me a job!"

- Larry Musarra (as told to Human Rights First)