In Travel News for December 5th, 2022 we tail about the REAL ID deadline for domestic Air Travel, France banning flights, and the TSA expanding Facial Recognition.
REAL ID Deadline Extended
If you plan on flying domestically you will need to have a REAL ID by October 1st, 2020. No, October 1st 2021, no May 3rd 2023. Nah, we aren’t serious about that date either, now you have to have a REAL ID by May 7th, 2025. That’s right. The Department of Homeland Security has, for the third time, pushed back the requirement that REAL ID compatible identification will be required to fly domestically within the United States. This extension is to give states more time to comply with the security standard and give travelers time to obtain a REAL ID. Currently about 49% of U.S. citizens have a REAL ID, and its estimated that number increases by half a precent every month.
France to Ban Some Domestic Flights
France has recently received approval from the European Commission allowing them to ban domestic flights. Not all domestic flights will be affected, currently only routes that are less then two and a half hours in length and have a high speed rail connection between air ports with multiple direct itineraries each day. And that’s not all, private jets have also been banned from the same routes. Currently only three routes qualify for the ban but as rail service improves between airports expect more routes to be eliminated. There is no word yet on how rail strikes will affect these bans. For example Train conductors and ticket collectors in France are threatening to strike between December 23rd and December 26th, and again between December 30th and January 2nd.
TSA Expanding Facial Recognition
It’s being reported that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is planning to extend identifying travelers through Facial Recognition to more airports across the United States next year. The use of facial recognition in airports is not new, the TSA has been using the current system dubbed Credential Authentication Technology with Camera in Washington DC, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Orlando. This system can improve the airport experience by reducing or eliminating the dependence on having a TSA agent manually verify that a traveler matches their identification; and there by speeding up the screening process. Currently this is an optional system, travelers uncomfortable with their biometric data being collected and stored, and possibly leaked, can opt to use the standard TSA screening process.