No REAL ID? No real problem for travelers as deadline arrives
A sign at LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday addressing the people who did not have a Real ID, passport or other TSA-compliant document. Credit: Newsday/Matthew Chayes
This story was reported and written by Matthew Chayes, Lisa L. Colangelo and Maureen Mullarkey.
Lacking a REAL ID turned out to be no real problem for travelers on Wednesday at LaGuardia, MacArthur and other airports across the United States, where the post-9/11 mandate for more secure driver's licenses went into effect after nearly 17 years of delays.
Checkpoints moved quickly. Exceptions were made for travelers who failed to meet the REAL ID standard, now required for commercial air travel: a driver's license with enhanced security features, or another acceptable ID such as a passport.
There were identical reports of exceptions en masse for REAL ID-less travelers at airports nationwide — at Los Angeles, Nashville, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver and beyond.
On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said those who didn't meet the REAL ID standard would still be allowed to fly, for now, and on Wednesday, Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told Newsday she didn't know when the agency would end the exception.
About 81% of travelers who go by airline have REAL ID or other qualifying document like a passport, Noem told a congressional committee Tuesday. She didn’t say how a traveler is defined.
Just after sunrise Wednesday at LaGuardia Airport's Terminal C, a Delta Air Lines agent was asking passengers approaching the TSA checkpoint whether they had REAL IDs or other qualifying identification.
Most did and were directed to the regular queue. Passengers with a noncompliant ID were escorted to a special queue. It didn't lead to extra scrutiny and longer wait times, but a framed, red-colored sign admonished: "The ID you presented is NOT REAL ID-compliant."
Those IDs were inspected and the cardholders allowed to pass after being given a red slip — identical to the sign — telling them they'll "need a REAL ID or other acceptable form of identification for your next flight or you may expect delays."
REAL ID legislation was enacted 20 years ago — to take effect in 2008 — but was delayed again and again after states kept objecting.
When a TSA agent at Terminal C later saw that a passenger had the red slip, the agent swabbed the person's hands to check for explosives residue, although that procedure was not done for a REAL ID-less traveler at Terminal B.
Farbstein said passengers without REAL ID are subject to increased scrutiny, but she declined to elaborate.
"Things have been going very smoothly at checkpoints across the country on the first day of REAL ID enforcement. There have been no impacts to wait times or to our security operations," she said.
Wayne Franklin, 55, of Birmingham, Alabama, who works for an ad agency, was at LaGuardia with a co-worker to catch a flight home, and brought his passport because he lacked a REAL ID.
"My wife reminded me," Franklin said with a chuckle.
He's been putting off getting a REAL ID after hearing about packed motor vehicle bureau offices.
"It was getting closer and closer to the deadline. I started hearing reports of 60- to 90-day waits to actually get the ID after you go and apply for it, so I figured I'd just wait till the rush died down," Franklin said.
Some Long Islanders and others in the United States who might need to board a plane had scrambled to get the ID before the Wednesday deadline.
Eric Chapman, 45, a photographer working with Franklin's agency who joined him on the business trip, got his REAL ID years ago. Chapman, also of Birmingham, was renewing his license during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to get it because he'd need it anyway.
"I was up for my license being renewed, and we're like, 'I think you have to have the star at some point,' so we just — my wife and I — bit the bullet and waited in line forever," he said.
The star in the right-hand corner is one of the features of a REAL ID card.
At MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, a TSA agent stood outside the security line to check passengers' identification before they headed inside to board early-morning flights to Fort Myers, Florida, and Baltimore/Washington International Airport.
Passengers without REAL ID were moved to a separate line, which appeared to move as quickly.
James Stepnoski, 65, of Riverhead, said he was fully prepared to travel with only his REAL ID, which he obtained about a year ago, for the 8:20 a.m. flight to Baltimore/Washington. His daughter had an appointment at the DMV to get her REAL ID before she's set to travel later this month.
"My daughter is actually heading to the DMV right now to get hers," Stepnoski said. "She just dropped me off and now she has to get there by 7:30."
At LaGuardia, where Cleveland-via-Detroit passenger Helen Rhynard, 50, got to Terminal C’s TSA checkpoint about 4 a.m., the queues were all long — but much longer for the one reserved for passengers lacking REAL ID, she said.
Rhynard had gotten a REAL ID years ago, mindful of the looming mandate.
"I knew it was coming," said Rhynard, a magistrate from Ohio.
Francesca Heller, 81, of Riverdale in the Bronx, who was waiting to catch a flight from LaGuardia to New Orleans to visit a friend, said she will just carry her passport each time she travels.
"As long as I can use my passport, I'm not going to" get a REAL ID, she said. "It's just another thing, and I have my passport. Why should I have something else if my passport is good?"
Lacking a REAL ID turned out to be no real problem for travelers on Wednesday at LaGuardia, MacArthur and other airports across the United States, where the post-9/11 mandate for more secure driver's licenses went into effect after nearly 17 years of delays.
Checkpoints moved quickly. Exceptions were made for travelers who failed to meet the REAL ID standard, now required for commercial air travel: a driver's license with enhanced security features, or another acceptable ID such as a passport.
There were identical reports of exceptions en masse for REAL ID-less travelers at airports nationwide — at Los Angeles, Nashville, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver and beyond.
OK to fly, for now
On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said those who didn't meet the REAL ID standard would still be allowed to fly, for now, and on Wednesday, Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told Newsday she didn't know when the agency would end the exception.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Lacking a REAL ID turned out to be no real problem for travelers on Wednesday.
- The post-9/11 mandate for more secure identification went into effect Wednesday.
- At LaGuardia Airport, passengers with a noncompliant ID were escorted to a special queue.
About 81% of travelers who go by airline have REAL ID or other qualifying document like a passport, Noem told a congressional committee Tuesday. She didn’t say how a traveler is defined.
Just after sunrise Wednesday at LaGuardia Airport's Terminal C, a Delta Air Lines agent was asking passengers approaching the TSA checkpoint whether they had REAL IDs or other qualifying identification.
Most did and were directed to the regular queue. Passengers with a noncompliant ID were escorted to a special queue. It didn't lead to extra scrutiny and longer wait times, but a framed, red-colored sign admonished: "The ID you presented is NOT REAL ID-compliant."
A view of the security checkpoint at MacArthur Airport on Wednesday. Credit: Tom Lambui
Those IDs were inspected and the cardholders allowed to pass after being given a red slip — identical to the sign — telling them they'll "need a REAL ID or other acceptable form of identification for your next flight or you may expect delays."
REAL ID legislation was enacted 20 years ago — to take effect in 2008 — but was delayed again and again after states kept objecting.
Subject to scrutiny
When a TSA agent at Terminal C later saw that a passenger had the red slip, the agent swabbed the person's hands to check for explosives residue, although that procedure was not done for a REAL ID-less traveler at Terminal B.
Farbstein said passengers without REAL ID are subject to increased scrutiny, but she declined to elaborate.
"Things have been going very smoothly at checkpoints across the country on the first day of REAL ID enforcement. There have been no impacts to wait times or to our security operations," she said.
Wayne Franklin, 55, of Birmingham, Alabama, who works for an ad agency, was at LaGuardia with a co-worker to catch a flight home, and brought his passport because he lacked a REAL ID.
"My wife reminded me," Franklin said with a chuckle.
He's been putting off getting a REAL ID after hearing about packed motor vehicle bureau offices.
"It was getting closer and closer to the deadline. I started hearing reports of 60- to 90-day waits to actually get the ID after you go and apply for it, so I figured I'd just wait till the rush died down," Franklin said.
Last-minute scramble
Some Long Islanders and others in the United States who might need to board a plane had scrambled to get the ID before the Wednesday deadline.
Eric Chapman, 45, a photographer working with Franklin's agency who joined him on the business trip, got his REAL ID years ago. Chapman, also of Birmingham, was renewing his license during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to get it because he'd need it anyway.
"I was up for my license being renewed, and we're like, 'I think you have to have the star at some point,' so we just — my wife and I — bit the bullet and waited in line forever," he said.
The star in the right-hand corner is one of the features of a REAL ID card.
At MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, a TSA agent stood outside the security line to check passengers' identification before they headed inside to board early-morning flights to Fort Myers, Florida, and Baltimore/Washington International Airport.
Passengers without REAL ID were moved to a separate line, which appeared to move as quickly.
Ready to travel
James Stepnoski, 65, of Riverhead, said he was fully prepared to travel with only his REAL ID, which he obtained about a year ago, for the 8:20 a.m. flight to Baltimore/Washington. His daughter had an appointment at the DMV to get her REAL ID before she's set to travel later this month.
"My daughter is actually heading to the DMV right now to get hers," Stepnoski said. "She just dropped me off and now she has to get there by 7:30."
At LaGuardia, where Cleveland-via-Detroit passenger Helen Rhynard, 50, got to Terminal C’s TSA checkpoint about 4 a.m., the queues were all long — but much longer for the one reserved for passengers lacking REAL ID, she said.
Rhynard had gotten a REAL ID years ago, mindful of the looming mandate.
"I knew it was coming," said Rhynard, a magistrate from Ohio.
Francesca Heller, 81, of Riverdale in the Bronx, who was waiting to catch a flight from LaGuardia to New Orleans to visit a friend, said she will just carry her passport each time she travels.
"As long as I can use my passport, I'm not going to" get a REAL ID, she said. "It's just another thing, and I have my passport. Why should I have something else if my passport is good?"
From Miller Place to the Mets Not long ago, Kevin Mahoney was pitching for Miller Place. Now, he's a Mets' batting practice pitcher. NewsdayTV's Carissa Kellman reports.
From Miller Place to the Mets Not long ago, Kevin Mahoney was pitching for Miller Place. Now, he's a Mets' batting practice pitcher. NewsdayTV's Carissa Kellman reports.
