“Who Are These People Traveling With You?” Here’s Why Children Are Asked This Question at Airport Security — and We Heard Terrifying Story

Our six-and-a-half-year-old daughter is almost always asked the same question (or some variation thereof) at an airport’s security checkpoint.

(No, it’s not “Aren’t you embarrassed to be seen with one of the Eye of the Flyer guys?!”)

A CLEAR employee or TSA officer will ask our child, “Who are these people traveling with you?” They frequently ask her age, too. (They occasionally throw in something else like, “I like your outfit!” or “That’s a cool bag!” just to ) It’s not like they’re interrogating her and using accusatory tones. They’re almost always very friendly.

She always says, “Mom and Dad” (though — to everyone’s amusement — she once responded with both my wife’s and my full names before explaining our relationship to her).

My wife and I assumed the question had something to do with human trafficking. (I don’t care that I’ll get roasted in the Comments section about this “being so obvious” — but I figured a few other people have the same question.)

So, during a recent trip, we chatted with a very kind CLEAR ambassador about why kids are asked about their relationship to the adults with whom they’re traveling.

He confirmed that it is a tool to try and determine if any human trafficking or other nefarious activity is going on.

Then he told us a rather disturbing story.

He said a young boy wrapped himself around the ambassador’s leg and said, “I don’t want to go on the trip!” The child was traveling with an adult male (the boy confirmed he was his father). Apparently, the kid was crying and kept saying things like, “Don’t make me go!” and “I don’t want to take the trip!”

The ambassador’s Spidey Sense kicked in. Like, there are bratty kids and there are situations when something is wrong. This seemed like the latter.

So, he acted as if there were no problem and escorted the father and son to the TSA lectern. He gave an officer some secret code word and/or gesture (he wouldn’t go into detail) and returned to the CLEAR kiosks.

Turns out the child’s dad and mom were on the splits. Dad was from somewhere in Africa or the Middle East — and wanted to take the child back with him.

Well, that was news to Mom. I think she was out of the house or Dad pulled the kid out of school or something like that — and made a run for it. So, that CLEAR ambassador helped prevent an alleged kidnapping attempt.

We know the security personnel are doing their job — but we still thank them whenever they ask our daughter with whom she’s traveling.

Have you ever traveled with a youngster who wasn’t your child and ran into any problems with security? Or are you like someone I know who was asked, “Where did you get (your kids)?” Please share your experiences in the Comments section below!