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AIBU?

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Original poster

My child is always questioned in the airport!

36 replies

tigwig76 · 20/04/2019 23:22

We are lucky enough to go abroad on holiday at least twice a year. For the previous 2- 3 years my now 9yr old son is always questioned both at check in, before boarding and on arrival back to the UK at Border Force. Is this normal?
I never thought anything of it at first and I also have a teenage daughter who is never asked a thing. We all have the same surname, I'm married and we all travel together as a family of 4. Both kids look just like their dad too!
DS is asked stuff like are you sure that's your name, how old are you, what's your dob, where have you been and for how long etc. He is completely laid back and answers in his own natural way. One time it was a few days after his birthday and the check in staff quizzed him about that and asked him what he got for presents. It's like they all dont quite believe him!! Does this happen to everyone?!

OP posts:
CharityConundrum · 20/04/2019 23:25

Maybe he shares a name or dob with someone who is flagged in the system. One of my friends is always stopped and asked additional questions and learned that it was because she shares an initial, surname and dob with someone who had jumped bail!

KaterinaPetrova · 20/04/2019 23:26

Is his passport photo different to how he looks in real life? Other than that I can't think why they would do that.
Mind you, I've been on 4 flights in my whole life and every time I get pulled aside, carry on bag checked and swabbed and I'm swept with the handheld detector despite having no beeps when passing through and there being nothing in my bag I shouldn't have. I must look really bloody dodgy.

LillithsFamiliar · 20/04/2019 23:29

I'd think the same as Charity. He either looks like a child who has been flagged on the system or shares the same details as a child who has been flagged.

VladmirsPoutine · 20/04/2019 23:42

They've all answered. He shares similar details as a person of interest, so to speak.

HomeMadeMadness · 20/04/2019 23:43

I agree it might be a similar name - my friend has a similar surname to a terrorist and all her family are always questioned.

m0therofdragons · 20/04/2019 23:46

My brother shares his name with an Irish terrorist. Took a lot longer for his citizenship to go through when he moved to Canada but he finally found out why he was also stopped for spot checks.

Dtds always get stopped but they're cute blonde ID twins so I think it's just that.

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 20/04/2019 23:47

Does he look,different to his photo? If he is 9 then did he get his second passport at 5.

We had ever such trouble when dd was nearly 5 as she didn’t look anything at all like the slightly squashed newborn in the photo!

It didn’t help that she is known as a shortening of her name that is not much like her full name. (Eg Libby short for Elizabeth.) And the name is pronounced completely differently in the country we were visiting.

So when the border staff said “Elizavett” to her she didn’t blink.

I was left saying “tell the nice man your full name Libby” and thankfully her whole “Elizabeth Mary Jones but I call me Libby” statement seemed to satisfy him.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 20/04/2019 23:50

How long has he had his passport.
Has he altered a lot since it was first issued.

WorraLiberty · 20/04/2019 23:51

How many times has it happened?

Fruitbatdancer · 20/04/2019 23:55

Shares details of a child/ person of interest. Or has an erroneous flag on the system. I had a work colleague same initial/ date of birth and surname as a most wanted! He was stopped every time - and several countries wouldn’t even let him in!

Temporaryanonymity · 20/04/2019 23:56

Yes, same with my 9 year old. My 12 year old is always ignored.

ginmcginface · 21/04/2019 00:06

My 10 year old ds is too. Every time. It makes me laugh though because he can talk for England and happily regales stories far and above what they’ve asked him Grin.

Purpleartichoke · 21/04/2019 00:09

Dd is always questioned, but she is flying in the US without Id. They check child identity by asking them questions. A 2 year old would point to mom or dad. A 5 year old Might be asked to say their parents first name while pointing to them. An older kid might get asked an address and they check that against the parent Id.

Itwouldtakemuchmorethanthis · 21/04/2019 00:10

One of my twins is always pulled aside and so am I. Fucking weird! Mercifully we are boring as hell so it just makes things slower.

notangelinajolie · 21/04/2019 00:10

Him or his dad probably have the same name as someone who is of interest. I don't think you should worry about it. My adult daughter is always stopped when entering this country. It has been happening since she was a child. It is a standing family joke that we steer well clear of her once we get off the plane. Although their interest in my daughter is unfounded it is reassuring to know that behind the scenes they are trying to keep this country safe.

Karwomannghia · 21/04/2019 00:16

All we’ve ever had is they say one of the kids’ names and see if they look. Only really recently realised it was a thing and not just Conversation

WaxOnFeckOff · 21/04/2019 00:28

yes, agree with the others, something about his details trigger an alert. Might stop when he is 16/18.

You want to try getting through Turkish security (stricter than your average europe flight) with a 6 foot 14 year old with long dark hair and beard who has a passport with a baby faced blond child in it. At one point they took him away towards another room and then wondered why I was protesting until I told them that he was a child (then they checked the date of birth properly). After that they just took him to another desk and had him completely empty his bag and examined everything really carefully and gave him an over clothes body search. He's had a few since and will be 18 soon so he'll be on his own with those now. DS1 never gets them.

TreacherousPissFlap · 21/04/2019 00:43

I've recently had a thread on here about DS's passport and similar issues.

In DS's case it's because he's had surgery to correct a squint and his original photo shows his eye turned right in towards his nose. We have a new passport application going at the moment as the passport office advised us that DS will have a "marker" on his passport due to the number of times he's been stopped.

SeaToSki · 21/04/2019 01:07

In the US you can get a know traveller number. It is for people who have similar details to someone who is flagged. You have to have an interview and provide lots of documentation, but then you can add the special number whenever you travel, and it stops the extra checks

WithAllIntenseAndPurposes · 21/04/2019 01:09

I don't know but every bloody time I will get frisked and my tray will go down the naughty slide

Alicewond · 21/04/2019 01:15

I always get stop checked too, my family find it hilarious. I think in my case it’s because flying terrifies me and therefore I look nervous. Doesn’t help that I am also terrified they’ll check me and I’ll have accidentally somehow smuggled she’d loads of drugs without realising!!! Yes my mind is an odd thing and I worry about the impossible!!! 😂

Ghanagirl · 21/04/2019 01:16

Is he a different colour to typical UK Citizens?
My Ds has been pulled aside few times since he was around 8-9 and he’s not particularly tall...

LaCitrouille · 21/04/2019 01:51

Are you Muslim? That's quite the norm with us. We travel A LOT and we're always checked at the security gates and DDs are questioned. Still, I will never forget how the passport control officer in Vienna refused to believe that our daughter was actually ours! She kept asking about why I'm not having my husband's last name and why my daughter is having a different surname. You would think that her job would've taught her that not every woman chooses to have her husband's surname. And that there are cultures that name their kids surnames after grandparents. I wonder if she's ever heard of families with step children or unmarried couples with children. That will surely shock her!
We were held for 25 minutes until they finished inspecting all our passports, marriage certificate and Dd's birth certificate.

MolyHolyGuacamole · 21/04/2019 01:51

Child trafficking. Might be considered the 'right' age or something for it. I have a relative who needed all sorts of permission from her son's father to travel alone with him from SA to the UK, for this very reason. Grim.

MolyHolyGuacamole · 21/04/2019 01:52

Forgot to add that her son was also 9 at the time.