Are you on the terrorist watch list? Sen. Ted Kennedy and 350 other Americans have been delayed or prevented from boarding flights after their names mistakenly appeared on the terrorist "no-fly" list.

Imagine the following scene: A distinguished-looking septuagenarian approaches the US Airways ticket counter at Boston's Logan airport. He is heading for Washington, D.C. He hands his electronic ticket to the ticket agent, who checks his computer database. Trouble.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you on this flight," the agent says nervously.

"Why not? I've been taking this flight for 42 years now," the would-be passenger asks in obvious bewilderment.

"I can't tell you. You'll have to talk to my supervisor," the agent responds brusquely.

When the supervisor arrives, the tone of the exchange changes immediately. He instantly recognizes the delayed traveler as a longtime U.S. senator whose well-known visage has appeared countless times on television and in the newspapers. The red-faced supervisor apologizes profusely to the senator and quickly hands him his boarding pass.

Sorry About That

This scene is not fictional. With only slight variations, it was played out five times between March 1 and April 6, 2004, as Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) commuted back and forth between Boston and Washington. On each occasion Kennedy was not allowed to board the airplane until someone higher up in the chain of command recognized him and apologized for the mix-up.

When Senator Kennedy pressed the US Airways ticketing supervisor as to why he was initially prohibited from boarding the plane, he was told that his name resembles an alias appearing on a watch list of potential terrorists provided by the Department of Homeland Security.

Given Senator Kennedy's seven terms in the Senate and the influence and power that such a status affords, it's little wonder that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge called the senator to apologize. What took longer, however, was rectifying the problem so that Kennedy would no longer run into security snags at the airport. That step took another three weeks to accomplish and entailed several calls to Ridge and Asa Hutchinson, the undersecretary for border security.

In light of all the confusion and ineptitude associated with the management of the terrorist suspect list, it should come as no surprise that Senator Kennedy is not the only member of Congress who has had a run-in with the airlines because his name is similar to one appearing on the top-secret list of suspected terrorists. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) revealed that his name is also on the list. He has been prevented from boarding planes and has been repeatedly subjected to increased scrutiny. He is even currently barred from purchasing electronic tickets.

It's not just public officials who find themselves delayed at the airport, though. Around 350 average Americans have also been mistakenly identified as suspected terrorists and kept from boarding planes. It's a sure bet that, unlike Senator Kennedy, few if any of them received a personal phone call from Tom Ridge apologizing for the error.

Senator Kennedy recently told the Senate Judiciary Committee about how he repeatedly ran into difficulty with airline security. His revelation apparently got some chuckles. But Kennedy also expressed concern for ordinary Americans. "If they have that kind of difficulty with a member of Congress," he asked, "how in the world are average Americans, who are getting caught up in this thing, how are they going to be treated fairly and not have their rights abused?"

It's a good question and one that has gone unanswered, except for one chilling comment from an airline security spokesman: "Once you're on the list, there's no way to get off it."