No Fly List - Failures

Failures

In an article in The Atlantic, security expert Bruce Schneier described a simple way for people to defeat the No Fly List:

Use a stolen credit card to buy a ticket under a fake name. Print a fake boarding pass with your real name on it and go to the airport. You give your real ID, and the fake boarding pass with your real name on it, to security. They’re checking the documents against each other. They’re not checking your name against the no-fly list—that was done on the airline’s computers. Once you’re through security, you rip up the fake boarding pass, and use the real boarding pass that has the name from the stolen credit card. Then you board the plane, because they’re not checking your name against your ID at boarding.

That approach might apply to some airports worldwide, but as of today on many airports worldwide the aircrew staff at the boarding gate perform a check "ID versus boarding pass" as well (at least most in Europe, Middle East, South America).