Henderson mayor unable to make debate after losing wallet

Cy Ryan

Friday, Feb. 3, 2006 | 12:30 p.m.

What would you do if you went to the airport without a photo ID?

Henderson Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibson missed a candidate dinner in Northern Nevada on Saturday because, his campaign says, he got to McCarran International Airport and found he was missing his driver's license.

He went back to his car to search and didn't find it, so he went home. The next flight would have put him in Reno too late to make the event.

His opponent, Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, was at the event, waiting to face off with Gibson.

Titus and her campaign have jabbed at Gibson, pointing out a little-publicized fact: Federal regulations allow a person to board a flight without ID under some circumstances.

Who knew?

Large signs at McCarran's gates say that passengers need photo ID, but Nico Melendez, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman, noted that "passengers lose their wallets, people leave their purses at home. There has to be a way to allow these people on board flights."

It's up to airline officials to verify a passenger's identity. Without seeing an ID, they can verify with a credit card or some other means that officials wouldn't specify. With an airline's approval, a passenger is then subject to a more rigorous screening by the TSA, including a pat-down search before going to the gate.

The only place there's any notice to the contrary is at the Metro Police office, which is well off the beaten path - down a long corridor away from the gates.

Airlines officials, though, say it's not unusual to see someone who doesn't have ID.

"I lost my wallet on my way to the airport once," said Zoe Guynn, a U.S. Airways spokeswoman. "I'm sure it happens all the time."

Cy Ryan can be reached at (775) 687-5032 or at cy@lasvegassun.com.