The clock is running, with 68 days until a May 7 deadline for domestic air travelers to show identification that meets the federal Real ID law standards, Transportation Security Administration officials said.
For the first time, TSA officials detailed the arduous process that travelers will have to go through if they don’t have a Real ID driver’s license or state issued ID card, a Passport or other compliant identification.
“One of the questions we get is hey, is it really happening...it’s been delayed in the past,” Carter said. “This is the closest we have been. We’re 68 days away. The best thing you can do is prepare.”
That might not be as easy as it was a year ago. In order to convert a standard driver’s license to a Real ID license you have to make a trip to a state Motor Vehicle Commission licensing center.
That requires an appointment, which is getting hard to find as the deadline approaches. As of 2:30 p.m. Friday there were no available appointments at any of the MVC’s 28 licensing centers, according to the commission website.
These licenses and ID cards meet the requirements of the 2005 Real ID act to create a more secure document in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Passports and Global Entry cards also meet those requirements.
“Every one of the terrorists had an appropriate ID or used fraudulent information to get one, said Thomas Carter, TSA federal security director for Newark Airport. ”Real ID was designed to prevent it from ever happening again."
Domestic air travelers over age 18 will need to show a Real ID. The Real ID act prohibits TSA agents from accepting documents that don’t meet Real ID security standards.
What happens if a traveler presents a non-Real ID license or identification to a TSA document screener after the deadline? Prepare to step aside and wait.
Be prepared to fill out a form full of questions and wait for a federal verification center to check them and give that traveler a green or red light to fly, Carter said.
“You don’t want to be that person,” Carter said.
TSA officials plan to screen people in line for Real ID’s before they reach the document screening desk, but that will take some resources, he said.
“We go through an identity verification process where we have paperwork forms filled out by the individual, they have to answer some questions,” he said.
The individual gets put on a phone call with the Identity Verification and Command Center, he said.
“They will be required to answer very specific questions about themselves to validate their ID,” Carter said. “It is a very long process.”
That process could cost a traveler 10 to 30 minutes, he said.
Those who can’t answer the questions correctly could be denied entry to the secure area of the airport and “not be permitted to fly,” he said.
“Starting on May 7 you can expect that call volume to be very significant, which will delay people even further,' he said.
That process is just for one flight. That traveler will face the same process for the return flight, he said.
There also is the ripple effect on travelers who do have their Real ID. The TSA screens an average of 85,000 people daily at Newark Liberty International Airport. Even at a 95% compliance rate, that is still about 4,100 people daily who will have to go through that process Carter said.
That’s a concern for officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who are expecting a busy summer on the heels of a record breaking January at its three airports with 3.5% more or 180,000 more passengers moved than in Jan. 2024.
“My biggest concern is we start to see congestion volumes at the checkpoint and the impact on customer who showed up prepared with a Real ID,” said Aidan O’Donnell, Port Authority New Jersey airports general manager
“One of things we’re working on is to ensure as that verification process takes place, it can be one in a manner that doesn’t affect everyone else,” he said.
To raise awareness, the TSA and Port Authority, are constantly reminding travelers about Real ID.
That includes TSA screening officers verbally reminding travelers, handing out fliers with QR codes for Real ID information and posting signs.
In New Jersey, As of Feb. 24, 1.243 million Real ID-compliant licenses and IDs have been issued compared to 6.695 million standard licenses and IDs, said William Connolly, a state Motor Vehicle Commission spokesperson.
Nationally, Transportation Security Administration officials adopted a new rule last month that allows a “phased-in” enforcement of Real ID provisions because they estimate only 70% of ID card holders will have a Real ID document by May 7.
While the rule does not extend beyond the May 7 deadline, it does allow the TSA and other agencies leeway on enforcing the mandate. How that will be done has not been announced.
Carter said the details of how that phased in enforcement will work will be announced on the TSA website at a later date.
Stories by Larry Higgs
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry