Some Ended Hassles at Airports by Making Slight Change to Name
For more than a year and a half, Rep. John Lewis has
endured lengthy delays at the ticket counter, intense questioning by
airline employees and suspicious glances by fellow passengers. Airport
security guards have combed through his luggage as he stood in front of
his constituents at the Atlanta airport. An airline employee has paged
him on board a flight for further questioning, he said. On at least 35
occasions, the Georgia Democrat said, he was treated like a criminal
because his name, like that of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.),
appeared on a government terrorist watch list. While Kennedy managed to
get security officials to end his airlines hassles after three weeks of
trying, Lewis had no luck for months. Then he found his own way around
the security mess. Lewis added his middle initial to his name when
making his airline reservations. The computer system apparently didn't
flag tickets for "Rep. John R. Lewis," and the hassles suddenly ended. [more ] Pictured above: Rep. John Lewis.
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] Pictured above: Rep. John Lewis.