One way to fend off airport chaos — get your Real ID
Survey shows ‘alarming lack of awareness and preparedness’
In what could be a sign of looming chaos at U.S. airports this time next year, a new study shows that more than half of Americans are completely unaware of the Real ID deadline while nearly 40% lack any alternative ID that they would need to board a domestic flight.
The daunting question raised by the new U.S. Travel Association survey is this: How many thousands or even millions of ticket-carrying, would-be travelers will be turned away when they arrive at the airport to board their flights without the proper documents?
While an alternative form of ID — most notably a U.S. passport — will still allow travelers to board a flight starting Oct. 1, 2020, the fact that so many survey respondents said they don’t have one suggests that airports could soon be filled with security-checkpoint chaos and crowds of angry travelers who’ve suddenly discovered that their plane tickets are useless.
“Our survey gave us the answer we didn’t want to hear: that there is alarming lack of awareness and preparedness a short year out from Real ID going into full effect,” said U.S. Travel’s CEO Roger Dow, whose group hired Longwoods International, a market research firm, to conduct the survey. “This is significant not only because it will inconvenience travelers and create confusion at U.S. airports — it could do significant damage to our nation’s economy.”
The U.S. Travel Association is a national, nonprofit organization whose members include air
lines, airports, governmental tourism agencies and many more players in the travel industry. Alarmed by the survey’s findings, Dow said his group “has launched a broad education effort alongside the full spectrum of publicand private-sector travel stakeholders: airports, federal government agencies, tourism offices, and the huge community of large and small businesses that depend on American travelers — we need all hands on deck to avert a big problem next October.”
U.S. Travel has put together a toolkit to help Americans learn more about Real ID and how to
obtain one, a process that can be lengthy and confusing. Travel experts are worried that many travelers will wait until the last minute, then face disappointment when appointments for a Real ID application are only available months down the road.
Almost 3 in every 4 Americans are unprepared for the October 2020 deadline for full implementation of Real ID, according to the survey, and the group says millions could be prevented from boarding a plane because they do not have the required identification.
Here are some key takeaways from the group’s findings and some facts about Real ID:
• On Oct. 1, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security will implement
the last phase of enforcement of the Real ID Act — the law originally passed in 2005 that will require travelers to present a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or other approved form of identification to board a flight.
• According to the survey, 72% of Americans either do not have a Real IDcompliant driver’s license or are unsure if they do.
• The study also revealed a significant Real ID awareness issue, with more than half of Americans (57%) saying they did not know about the upcoming deadline.
• Many Americans also lack the alternatives to Real ID-compliant, stateissued driver’s licenses, such as a U.S. passport. About 39% of Americans say they do not have any
form of identification that will be accepted starting Oct. 1, 2020. That number equates to an estimated 99 million Americans.
• Based on this data, U.S. Travel economists estimated the potential economic effect of Real ID implementation: If Real ID standards were to be fully enforced immediately, at least 78,500 air travelers could be turned away at TSA checkpoints on the first day, costing the U.S. economy $40.3 million in lost travel-related spending.
• If that trend sustained for a full week, the figures could grow to more than half a million (549,500) air travelers prevented from boarding planes and $282 million in lost travel spending.
Beyond a noticeable lack
of public awareness, a big part of the problem with Americans getting the Real ID in a timely manner is that each of the U.S. states and territories has adopted its own individual processes for implementing Real ID standards instead of putting a single and coordinated plan into place.
That confusion is evident in many of the survey’s results. For example, the poll shows that an estimated 182 million Americans (72%) say their driver’s license is not a Real ID or they may be confused: “21% say they are certain their license is not a Real ID; 23% say they are unsure if their license is a Real ID and 28% believe their license is a Real ID but did not correctly identify the star” that the Real
ID now includes.
Travel groups and governmental agencies are scrambling to bring the general public up to speed. The Department of Homeland Security, for example, posted a frequently asked questions page, which lays out specifics about the new cards — such as how to obtain one and how and when you’ll need to use one.
The American Automobile Association put out its own primer, under the heading “What is Real ID? Everything You Need to Know About the New Law.”
For more information about Real ID, contact the U.S. Travel Association at 202-408-8422 or follow it on Twitter at @ustravel.