Senate chairman worried ‘Real ID’ will shock air travelers

WASHINGTON – A post9/11 law designed to keep people from using fake IDS to board airplanes is one year away from taking effect, but the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee worries that it’s destined to create “Y2k-type disruption” at the nation’s airports in October 2020.

Even though most states are issuing Real IDS – enhanced driver’s licenses required with the passage of a 2005 law – Mississippi Republican Roger Wicker said he worries passengers who don’t have them and don’t know they need them will be caught by surprise on Oct. 1, 2020, when airports begin requiring the enhanced identification to pass through security.

Wicker is particularly worried about passengers who carry driver’s licenses issued before states began issuing Real IDS. For most states, driver’s licenses that also qualify as Real IDS are marked with a star.

“It seems to me citizens are going to be caught by surprise and outraged just about a year from now if suddenly they can’t board a plane,” he said. “They’ve bought a ticket, they’ve gotten there and suddenly that item that’s been golden for years and years no longer gets you on the plane.”

It’s the latest hurdle in what has become a yearslong attempt to implement a law imposing policies recommended by the 9/11 Commission, which argued that the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center were caused in part by the terrorists’ ability to get bogus IDS. The law required states to verify that license applicants are in the country legally and require them to have additional proof of residency.

In California, Department of Motor Vehicles officials initially required just one proof of residency for the REAL ID; the federal law demanded two, said Anita Gore, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

The state’s 27 million drivers aren’t required to have a Real ID, and can opt just to get an ordinary driver’s license if they don’t plan to fly or do not have the required documents, such as a Social Security card. California has issued about 5.5 million Real IDS since January 2018.

But 11 million drivers during that time opted not to receive the Real ID when they renewed, Gore said. Those drivers will need other federally approved identification, such as a passport, to board commercial aircraft after Oct. 1, 2020. California has launched websites and digital advertisements to spread the word, hiring a public relations firm to tell the public about Real ID.