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Missing middle name on international ticket? Here's what TSA told me.
Posted on 1/22/18 at 4:54 pm
Posted on 1/22/18 at 4:54 pm
I booked flights to Scotland through Expedia for me, my wife, and 2 of my kids in May. When I did this, I did not include anyone's middle names as they appear on our passports. Total brain fart, yes, but I'm so used to never doing it on domestic travel that it didn't occur to me.
A week later when I learned that I might need to add them, I tried getting in touch with Expedia to request the change. After 3 phone calls with people in INDIA who can barely speak English, I was told that they contacted Aer Lingus and no middle names are required.
But I'm not worried about Aer Lingus, I am worried about the TSA guy with a high school diploma who wants to ruin somebody's day. So I called TSA to get the scoop and here is what she told me (paraphrased):
"You should be okay. The guy's job is to make sure you are who you say you are. Minor name discrepancies such as a missing middle name should not matter. Arrive early and bring a backup form of identification."
So if I don't get on that plane in May, somebody is gonna get sued. Thank God I bought trip insurance. Anyway, lesson learned.
A week later when I learned that I might need to add them, I tried getting in touch with Expedia to request the change. After 3 phone calls with people in INDIA who can barely speak English, I was told that they contacted Aer Lingus and no middle names are required.
But I'm not worried about Aer Lingus, I am worried about the TSA guy with a high school diploma who wants to ruin somebody's day. So I called TSA to get the scoop and here is what she told me (paraphrased):
"You should be okay. The guy's job is to make sure you are who you say you are. Minor name discrepancies such as a missing middle name should not matter. Arrive early and bring a backup form of identification."
So if I don't get on that plane in May, somebody is gonna get sued. Thank God I bought trip insurance. Anyway, lesson learned.
9
Posted on 1/22/18 at 4:58 pm to Slippy
I think you are overthinking this one. I never use my middle name
Posted on 1/22/18 at 5:06 pm to Slippy
They let you fly but you're subject to a full cavity search once you reach your destination. Enjoy!
Posted on 1/22/18 at 5:21 pm to Waffle House
quote:
full cavity search
Really? Suddenly I am even more excited about this trip.
Posted on 1/22/18 at 5:29 pm to Slippy
For what it's worth, my daughter went to Italy last summer and she did not put her middle name on her ticket and she didn't have any problems.
Posted on 1/22/18 at 5:37 pm to Slippy
Even if the tsa agent has a problem with it, they'll just put you through extra security checks before letting you through. It's the airline's job to verify your identity, not theirs. It's possible to get through tsa without even having an ID.
Just plan to arrive a little earlier than normal at the airport in case of extra screening procedures. They'll pull you off to the side to pat you down, actually go through your carry on bags, etc.
Just plan to arrive a little earlier than normal at the airport in case of extra screening procedures. They'll pull you off to the side to pat you down, actually go through your carry on bags, etc.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 2:14 am to Slippy
When you check in for your flight, they’ll change it at the ticket counter. Happened to me last year when flying SWA to Mexico.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 8:04 am to Slippy
I had my name misspelled and the middle and first names swapped by our work travel agent. No issues. They realized it was a mistake and i wasn't a threat.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 1:21 pm to CajunInFL
quote:
When you check in for your flight, they’ll change it at the ticket counter. Happened to me last year when flying SWA to Mexico.
This. But I don't believe TSA cares about middle names, story below.
This is one reason while I will always try to not book through a 3rd party like Expedia for an airline again though. There's also a point where Expedia essentially hands you off to the airline, about a week out I believe. When you choose your seat assignment and what not, if you haven't already.
At that point contact Aer Lingus and have them add your middle names.
This past summer on our trip to Dublin, I put Ms. for both my wife and daughter whom both have the same first name. Even though their middle name was placed on there and different along with a different social and date of birth it was a major issue since they were both Ms. Jane Smith. It took almost 2 hours at the original departure airport, and it still wasn't fixed properly so we had to deal with it in Atlanta too.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 3:09 pm to Slippy
You’re definitely overthinking this.
I never even use my real name when traveling international.
I never even use my real name when traveling international.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 7:21 pm to Willie Stroker
What's gonna be awesome is when y'all can't come back because of this.
Posted on 1/24/18 at 9:33 am to Slippy
OP you are probably fine. I've not heard of Aer Lingus having issues.
To everyone else assuming in this thread. It definitely can be an issue.
Cathay Pacific is notorious for requiring the name matching the passport or you will not fly. I recommend everyone matches their passport as good practice to avoid this issue.
To everyone else assuming in this thread. It definitely can be an issue.
Cathay Pacific is notorious for requiring the name matching the passport or you will not fly. I recommend everyone matches their passport as good practice to avoid this issue.
Posted on 1/24/18 at 2:56 pm to Slippy
I flew to Australia and Turks and Caicos recently.
The way our flight miles program is set up, it seems to always auto-fill our names in on the tickets.
Middle initial is on mine. No middle name or initial on wife's.
Neither of us had any issue. Your passport is basically your "golden ticket". You are fine.
Enjoy your trip.
The way our flight miles program is set up, it seems to always auto-fill our names in on the tickets.
Middle initial is on mine. No middle name or initial on wife's.
Neither of us had any issue. Your passport is basically your "golden ticket". You are fine.
Enjoy your trip.
Posted on 1/24/18 at 3:50 pm to Teddy Ruxpin
quote:
Cathay Pacific is notorious for requiring the name matching the passport or you will not fly.
The OP was asking about TSA having an issue with his situation, not the airline.
Like I said, it's the airline's job to verify youre supposed to be on the flight and issue the boarding pass. TSA is checking to make sure you are safe to fly, and they can and do do this with missing IDs, incorrectly spelled names, etc.
Posted on 1/24/18 at 4:42 pm to Open Your Eyes
I wouldn't mess around with it, not to beat a dead horse but we had a serious issue with the names this past summer because my wife and daughter both have the same first and last name.
If you somehow got on a flight with someone else with the same name, like Greg Smith situation where it was two regular names you could get into an issue.
Our biggest issue was the dumbass airlines didn't tell us it was an issue until the day before so we didn't have time to fix it. Then the baggage agent was new or just an idiot and it took her forever. When we got to the gate we worked with a better agent and she was able to fix it.
The issue we ran into though is that the name issue made the system drop my wife and daughter's seat selection. And our 2nd flight was over booked. So we barely got seats for the 2nd flight.
ETA: So yes, as said above its not TSA that's as much of the issue as it is the airlines. If your name is wrong you may not be able to get a boarding pass.
If you somehow got on a flight with someone else with the same name, like Greg Smith situation where it was two regular names you could get into an issue.
Our biggest issue was the dumbass airlines didn't tell us it was an issue until the day before so we didn't have time to fix it. Then the baggage agent was new or just an idiot and it took her forever. When we got to the gate we worked with a better agent and she was able to fix it.
The issue we ran into though is that the name issue made the system drop my wife and daughter's seat selection. And our 2nd flight was over booked. So we barely got seats for the 2nd flight.
ETA: So yes, as said above its not TSA that's as much of the issue as it is the airlines. If your name is wrong you may not be able to get a boarding pass.
This post was edited on 1/24/18 at 4:47 pm
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