A cute story from Texas where an active 106-year-old is tired of being on the receiving end of so many questions from airlines and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) when she flies.
106-Year-Old Tired Of Being Hassled By TSA Over Her Age
Cretora Biggerstaff is a frequent flyer. She’s also 106 years old. The Houston-area resident flies to Florida twice a year with her daughter but says she runs into a recurring problem…no one believes how old she is.
She further claims that the TSA system does not recognize ages over 100 (I guess TSA should use the Social Secuirty system ), which I do no think is true.
“They think I’m probably in a wheelchair drooling.”
She’s recently written to TSA and the airlines she flies, asking for clarification on the policy, “I’d like to see the computers aligned up to 120 or whatever. People live longer, so they don’t have to go through all that stress everytime they travel.”
This story piqued my interest because my own grandmother Claire, whom I named my daughter after, lived to be 108 years old and was active until the very end, teaching Sunday School, playing piano, cooking, and cleaning. A beautiful life…and I love that Biggerstaff is still traveling and hope she has many years of travel ahead.
I’d consider it a compliment if TSA and airline officials do not believe that she is 106…my uncle is 97 and could pass for a man in his 70s…some people are genetically blessed and should be very thankful for that small inconvenience when people cannot believe they are so old!
I remember when my grandmother was 106 I tried to take her back to Chicago, where she was born and raised, and even was willing to book her first class on a United 747-400, but she felt it was a little too much…I’m glad Biggerstaff is still traveling and I wish her many more happy and healthy years of travel.
image: TSA
So what exactly is she put through? She has an id so providing her age shouldn’t be that much of a chore. Maybe people are just being nice and saying “Oh there’s NO WAY you’re 106!” as a compliment and she’s misunderstanding it. Maybe her family is in on it ans saying they “call TSA”. It’s not like she’s being denied boarding or they’re calling the police every time she’s at the airport.
She’s surely not the first centenarian who’s flown. In fact, there’s probably more than we’d think.
Ny question too. What’s the issue here?
My Mom is 92 and goes through the same thing. It’s complimentary- she doesn’t look 92.
I really think the TSA just hates old people. My mom (79 next Tuesday, though she also looks younger than her age) gets harassed every single time she flies. They always claim the nude-o-scope alarms, and then say she needs a secondary inspection. Sometimes they ask to pat down her hair. Other times,her bum knee. The most ludicrous is when they ask to pat down her midsection. Why? She only wears a sari, which means her midsection is – wait for it – exposed.
May as well just drop the racism card too…..you almost did.
Ms Biggerstaff , thank you for reminding us the best is yet to come!
The issue is that the boarding information does not show over 99. If you are 100 or over, the age shows as zero or one, etc. So, the person has to go back to the ticket counter to get verification of age for TSA to let them through security.
I volunteer at the Albuquerque Sunport and I have seen a couple of older folks trek back to the ticket counter in order to get the paperwork TSA needs.
These is no “paperwork”. We both know this and the CAT machines absolutely can verify the authenticity of her identification. The people who are being sent back are people who’s names are incorrect and don’t match their boarding pass.
Wonderful story…I wish more like this were posted here. And congrats to you for having such longevity within your family. There is so much to learn from older people, that today are so often ignored.
So what’s her complaint, exactly?