According to an article in the Kansas City Star the TSA will simple perform additional screening for travelers without IDs.
I have read stories in the past about those who protested the need to show an ID simply to fly around their own country. I never heard the end of the story or about what court rulings might have been.
It seems that TSA has made provisions for folk without IDs, even as it was howling about states’ compliance with the Real ID program. It seems that the right hand has no idea of what the left is doing these days.
When asked about the need for an ID, the TSA responded:
“TSA requires travelers to produce a valid form of government-issued ID to verify that the name on the travel document matches the ID,” the response said.
But then it went on in seeming contradiction: “If a traveler is unwilling or unable to produce a valid form of ID, the traveler is required to undergo additional screening at the checkpoint to gain access to the secured area of the airport.”
So an ID is required, except that it’s not.
“If you have an ID,” TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said in an interview, “we highly encourage that you use that ID, because it speeds up the process not only for you but for anybody behind you in line.”
But allowances are made for the ID-free, she said, “because we have to put something in place for people who are on a trip and lose their ID.”
It seems even TSA makes some exceptions and let’s passengers know their regulations, even if its rules are ultimately secret.
