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Boy, 7, on terrorist list
24/07/2007 20:27 - (SA)
Florida - For the third time in his young life, a 7-year-old Florida boy recently had to check in with an airline agent before flying because his name is on the no-fly list.
Michael Martin appears to share a moniker with a suspected or known terrorist, a mix-up that has snared several other children around the US as well as high-profile officials including California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.
"He thought he did something wrong," said the boy's mother, Krista Martin.
Earlier this month, Martin was unable to print Michael's boarding pass from an AirTran kiosk at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, so she asked an airline agent if there was a problem. She was told he was on the list.
Martin told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for its Tuesday editions that she tells an airline her son's age when making flight reservations, but still has to seek out an agent when she cannot obtain his boarding pass online or at an airport kiosk.
"It's been happening since 9/11," she said.
The Transportation Security Administration, which compiles the list, said airlines are responsible for automatically excluding children from further scrutiny.
An AirTran spokesperson said the only way an airline can clear children is to see them first.
The intended Michael Martin may be an Irishman convicted in 1995 for participating in an Arizona smuggling ring that tried to ship bomb detonators to the Irish Republican Army.
The TSA has declined to disclose who is on their no-fly roster.
- AP
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