There are conflicting stories about a flight Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) took home to Chicago in May.
In an interview with the Daily Herald of Chicago, Kirk said his flight from Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare airport had to be evacuated because of a bomb threat. Kirk told the Chicago newspaper that on the subsequent flight there was a man on the no-fly list. Authorities took the man into custody, Kirk said. He praised American Airlines for how it handled the situation.
But American Airlines said that the threat happened prior to Kirk or anyone else boarding the plane, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
As for the second flight, Chicago Business reported that a spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Safety Agency couldn’t recall the incident but also said that someone on the no-fly list could not get a boarding pass to get on a plane.
Kirk, however, sent two letters to the TSA and Department of Security standing by his no-fly list story.
“An individual, allegedly on the Transportation and Security Administration’s (TSA) No Fly List, was on my recent flight from Washington, D.C.,” Kirk wrote in the TSA letter reported by Chicago Business. “I request that you investigate the situation and take the necessary actions to ensure the safety of all American travelers.”
Kirk is up for re-election in the 2016 cycle. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has already announced her candidacy for Kirk’s seat.
