Fury as TSA announces new charge for travelers without correct ID

Americans traveling through airports will soon have to pay a fee if they do not have the correct form of identification, sparking fury as some called the move government overreach.

The Transportation Security Administration announced Monday that any travelers passing through airport security without a REAL ID or a passport will have to pay $45 starting on February 1.

Additionally, it will require individuals to verify their identity through a biometric or biographic system if they do not have a REAL ID or passport.

The announcement marks the second part of the agency's rollout of the REAL ID program, which finally went into effect in May after being signed into law in 2005.

Under the law, Americans are asked to get federally-compliant state-issued driver's licenses, learner's permits or nondriver IDs to pass through airport security. 

Officials said the measure would enhance security and create a consistent standard of state-issued documentation.

However, authorities have not previously imposed any penalties for those who do not have a REAL ID or REAL ID-compliant documentation, and they were still allowed to travel with additional screening.

The TSA sought to change that last month.

Travelers without a REAL ID or passport will soon be required to pay a $45 fine to pass through airport security

'The current alternative identity verification process is time and resource intensive, limiting the number of individuals whom TSA can provide the service,' the agency said in a notice filed in the Federal Register.

'Requiring a fee for the modernized alternative identity verification program will ensure that the cost to administer this program is recovered from the users who benefit from it,' the agency continued.  

At the time, the TSA proposed a fee of just $18, but officials said Monday that a subsequent analysis showed the actual expenses associated with the Confirm ID system were greater than they initially projected. 

'The fee was necessary because we need to modernize the system,' Steve Lorinez, TSA's deputy executive assistant administrator for security operations, told ABC News.

'We needed to make sure that the systems are safe.'

TSA noted that the $45 fee will cover the administrative and IT costs associated with the biometric verification program and ensure that the expense is covered by the traveler and not the taxpayers. 

The announcement marks the second part of the agency's rollout of the REAL ID

Once the new program goes into effect in February, those without a REAL ID or passport can visit TSA.gov and follow the instructions listed to verify their identity and pay the fees.  

After that, they will receive an email confirmation to show a TSA officer before they pass through the checkpoint.

The whole process should take between 10 to 15 minutes, but could take as much as half an hour or even longer, the TSA warns. 

Those that get in line at the airport without an acceptable form of ID, meanwhile, will be sent out of the line to complete the process before they proceed.

Those with a stolen or lost REAL ID or passport will also be required to complete the process. 

But even then, the TSA says there is no guarantee that individuals will be cleared through the checkpoint.

'We still need to go through the process to make sure that we verify who you are,' Lorinez said. 'And for whatever reason, if we can't do that, then you can't go through the process.' 

For those that are verified, their $45 fee will cover access through TSA checkpoints for up to 10 days.

After that, if the individual travels without a REAL ID or passport again, they will have to pay another $45. 

The announcement sparked fury online, with some saying the measure is just another way for the federal government to make money

'Identity verification is essential to traveler safety because it keeps terrorists, criminals and illegal aliens out of the skies and other domestic transportation systems,' Adam Stahl, of the TSA, told Fox News.

But many online were left outraged by the news, with one podcaster asking: 'Is it really about safety on the airlines or just another money grab by the government?'

Another X user echoed that sentiment, writing: 'If it was about security, they wouldn't let anyone on their flight without a RealID since that is the premise of getting one.

'Now we know it's just another revenue stream for this administration.'

A third likened the new fee to a tax. 

'Either the TSA is a government agency and has no business determining which government ID we use OR the TSA is a government entity and has violated the law by instituting a tax without Congressional approval.

'Either way this is BS,' she wrote.

Meanwhile, a fourth X user just quipped that it is 'harder to get on a flight than it is to vote.' 

Still, TSA officials say 94 percent of travelers show up to the airport with an acceptable form of identification, and senior officials said they are working with airlines to help promote the effort when travelers book a ticket. 

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