Barnes to Senate: "Americans Are Simply Not REAL ID-Ready"

U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Barnes testified before a Senate subcommittee Thursday on the looming Oct. 1, 2020 deadline set to hit American air travel.  

Research by U.S. Travel and Longwoods International previously found that 57 percent of Americans are unaware that next Oct.1 is the deadline for having a REAL ID-compliant driver's license—or an acceptable alternative such as a U.S. passport—to board a domestic flight. The research also estimated that 99 million Americans are currently without any kind of REAL ID-compliant identification.

Barnes summarized U.S. Travel's policy proposals for getting ahead of the REAL ID problem, which include:

• accepting CLEAR and TSA Precheck membership as alternatives to REAL ID;

• allowing application for REAL IDs online;

• accelerating the implementation of biometrics as a means to securely identify travelers; and

• developing procedures for screening passengers who show up to the airport without a REAL ID.

"Turning travelers away at the checkpoint is not an option," Barnes told the committee.