Whose In Charge of Enforcing the No Fly List? TSA and US Airways Disagree

A man with tuberculosis was added to the no fly list, apparently by the Centers for Disease Control, but flew from Philadelphia to San Francisco anyway.

The CDC says there was little risk to passengers because the flight was less than 8 hours. If that’s true, why was he not supposed to fly in the first place? Sounds to me like either the no fly list in this case wasn’t necessary, and the CDC screwed up, or it was necessary and someone else screwed up. But the actions (adding to the no fly list) and the statements (no risk) are difficult to reconcile, outside of bureaucratic covering up after the fact.

More interestingly, though, the TSA and US Airways are pointing fingers at each other.

The airline told Eyewitness News it is up to the TSA to enforce the “no board list,” but a TSA spokesperson says it is the airlines’ responsibility.

TSA released the following statement about the incident: “We are just a conduit. We receive information and provide it to the airlines. All proper protocols were followed.”

(Hat tip: Reason Hit & Run.)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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