Are you planning a trip within the country? Want to enjoy a weekend without any setbacks?
For this, you must have your Real ID in order. To avoid queues at airports, docks or even on the road, US citizens who have decided to travel on the occasion of Memorial Day or are organizing a trip for next summer, have had to have this documentation in order. An action taken by the 11-S commission to increase security standards has become a headache for travelers at the Kentucky airport, who have suffered long queues and delays for not keeping it updated.
What´s the Real ID?
AS we all know, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania and New York, were targets of an attack back in 2011. One of the consequences of this was the creation of Commission 11-S, who created the Real ID law -passed by Congress in 2005-, which aims to increase basic safety standards when moving within the country or entering military bases.
The Real ID is essentially a new security standard in terms of identification. It is used to issue driving licenses and ID cards. These are not new card models and designs, but upgrades of existing cards that will have an identification mark; a star in the upper right corner. If you do not have a gold star, black, white with a golden circle, white with a black circle or the figure of a golden bear with a white star on its back, they will not be considered valid documents.
Is it compulsory?
As of 7 May 2025, it is, but authorities are still being flexible. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), “Driver’s licenses and state-issued IDs that do not comply with REAL ID regulations are no longer accepted as valid forms of identification at airports”. However, this is not the deadline date to apply for a Real ID. Apparently, many passengers of this past weekend hadn´t had their documents updated, which caused numerous delays and queues at airports. If this new identification is not presented, the authorities have to make sure that it is the correct person by checking other still valid documents such as the driving license.
Kentucky airport
The past weekend was characterized by having added a total of 18 million citizens who travelled by land, sea and air. The Louisville Airport in Kentucky accumulated numerous flight delays because many passengers had to wait for security staff to identify them correctly as they did not carry their Real ID. Two hours prior the flight are sufficient for those people who already have their Real ID. If, on the contrary, it is not yet available, the authorities recommend 3 hours in advance to avoid a second identification that could lead to the loss of the flight. This problem was not only found in outbound flights, but also inbound flights to the Muhhammad Ali airport, in Louisville.
Aspects to consider
Currently, minors are not required to carry a Real ID. However, the person in charge of the minor must have it.
Is there any wat to avoid queues? No. Although it is said that 93% of passengers already have their documentation updated, the remaining 7% has been the cause of these delays and crowds, so the only way to avoid them is having the documentation in order.
If you are in the waiting period after applying for your Real ID or if you have not yet found the time to approach an office, please note that there are other valid documents such as driver’s license, US passports and foreign passports, among others.
If you want to know how to process your Real ID, you can find out here!
