CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After it became a requirement on May 7th for people to start presenting what is called a REAL ID to board domestic flights, West Virginia International Yeager Airport Director and CEO Dominque Ranieri says the transition has been smooth so far.
“We are so pleased that all of our passengers have taken the time to go to the DMV and get their Real ID,” Ranieri said. “We have not seen any major slow downs here CRW at our TSA checkpoint.”
She said it was unclear at first how that transition was going to go when the deadline to acquire a REAL ID was announced back in February.
A gold star in the upper right-hand corner of your driver’s license is what distinguishes a Real ID from a regular one.
A Real ID is required not only in order to board a domestic flight, but to also access secure federal buildings, including military bases and some federal offices.
Ranieri said there was going to be a phase in process to give people extra time to obtain their Real ID where TSA was going to be implementing additional security screenings for those still without one. However, she said that was only going to be for a limited time.
“They have not announced how long they will do that for, so we are really encouraging everyone just to go ahead and get that Real ID,” she said.
The Real ID implementation has been 20 years in the making following 9/11 and it’s meant to further heighten security measurements.
Congress approved the REAL ID Act of 2005, but officials had previously said it was stalled due to some states needing more time in the implementation process, and then COVID-19 further delayed the process.
West Virginia has been issuing Real IDs since 2012, but it just recently became a requirement when boarding domestic flights.
Ranieri said that even though the deadline was May 7th, you should still be able to acquire your Real ID if you haven’t yet done so.
“As a reminder, if you have not yet gone to the DMV and gotten your Real ID and if you have a trip upcoming and you do not have a passport, it’s definitely time to make that appointment and stop in the DMV and get your Real ID,” Ranieri said.
To obtain a REAL ID, you’ll need to provide proof of identity, social security number, and two proofs of West Virginia residency.