{"id":2251,"date":"2025-05-07T04:02:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T04:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/?p=2251"},"modified":"2025-05-13T13:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T13:12:07","slug":"major-travel-requirement-change-you-need-to-fly-across-us-comes-into-effect-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/07\/major-travel-requirement-change-you-need-to-fly-across-us-comes-into-effect-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Major travel requirement change you need to fly across US comes into effect today"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Travelers are required to have REAL IDs for domestic flights in the US beginning May 7 (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new travel<\/a> document for US<\/a> citizens has come into force today.<\/p>\n

From May 7, people who fly through the US on domestic flights will need a new form of identification, called a REAL ID<\/a>, to get through security.<\/p>\n

The identification is a plastic card, roughly the same size as a credit card or driving licence, and has your personal information on it just like a normal ID card, such as your birthday, full name and a photograph.<\/p>\n

Before the change, people were allowed to fly domestically in the US with their driving licences or passports.<\/p>\n

The US Government\u2019s security agency, Transportation Security Administration\u00a0(TSA), has been warning the public for months leading up to the deadline, to apply for the enhanced IDs. <\/p>\n

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told a Congressional panel yesterday that 81% of American travelers have obtained REAL IDs.<\/p>\n

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People wait inside a branch of the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles to receive a REAL ID (Picture: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But she said around one-fifth of Americans still haven\u2019t applied for the REAL IDs, meaning that passengers and airport officials could face confusion, chaos and extended wait times at security checkpoints.<\/p>\n

Passengers who don\u2019t have a REAL ID will still be able to fly for the time being, but \u2018may be diverted to a different line and have an extra step\u2019, Noem said.<\/p>\n

\u2018We will make sure it\u2019s as seamless as possible.\u2019<\/p>\n

Security officials meanwhile have said enforcement and measures in place preventing any backlog at security.<\/p>\n

Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson with the agency in the New York City region,told the New York Post<\/a>: \u2018TSA is planning accordingly to ensure no impact to wait times or TSA screening operations.\u2019<\/p>\n

Farbstein said that travellers with only a state-issued identification card \u2018will be notified of their non-compliance\u2019 and could be subject to additional screening.<\/p>\n

Accepted alternatives to the REAL ID include passports and tribal identification, which are ID cards typically used by Native Americans. <\/p>\n

Non-US citizens must carry a passport to enter America, so the screening process for international travellers has not changed.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tREAL ID alternatives for domestic travel\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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State-issued driver\u2019s license and identification cards are no longer accepted for domestic travel as of May 7. Besides a REAL ID, here are the acceptable forms of documentation:<\/p>\n