Article Image

IPFS News Link • Transportation: Air Travel

You may need a passport to fly domestic in 2016

• http://money.cnn.com

In some states, your driver's license soon might not be good enough to board a flight, even if you're traveling within the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security said it will be making a decision this week.

Before you start worrying, there are a boatload of caveats: The government's decision will apply only to people in a handful of states. It wouldn't take effect until at earliest the end of April. And DHS could still decide to postpone its decision, according to a DHS spokeswoman.

Why your driver's license soon might not be good enough to board a flight

Ten years ago, the U.S. government passed the Real ID Act, issuing stricter standards for state-issued IDs, including drivers licenses. The idea was to toughen standards on what documents were needed to get a driver's license, an effort to crack down on the potential for terrorists and criminals to obtain state-issued IDs. The act makes it harder to obtain a drivers license with counterfeit records.

Fewer than half (22) of the states have complied with the law.

Though the law states that noncompliant IDs cannot be used to board domestic flights, DHS and the TSA have not been enforcing that standard. But DHS has said it would make an announcement about enforcing the law on air travelers -- and what that means for fliers -- before the end of 2015. And here we are, in the last week of 2015.

Once the rules are enforced, affected travelers will likely need a passport or another valid government ID to fly.


ppmsilvercosmetics.com/ERNEST/