The trade association for the nation’s commercial airports says the October deadline for READ ID licenses needs to be pushed back or “we’re going to have a real crisis on our hands.”
In an interview with NBC News, Kevin Burke, president of Airports Council International North America, the trade association representing commercial service airports in the United States and Canada, said people aren’t ready for the October 1, 2020 deadline because not enough have upgraded their drivers licenses or other identification to REAL ID standards.
As it currently stands, a REAL ID document will be needed on that date in order to travel by air.
“If the government doesn’t make a definitive statement now that they’re going to extend this, then we’re going to have a real crisis on our hands come Oct. 1,” Burke said.
Department of Homeland Security data indicates that states have issued more than 95 million REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards, more than two-thirds of driver’s licenses and identification cards held by Americans are not REAL ID compliant.
The REAL ID law was passed in 2005 but its deadline has been tweaked several times since then due to concerns about cost, legality, and privacy.