Air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID will be charged a $45 fee beginning in February, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday.
The updated ID has been required since May, but passengers without it have so far been allowed to clear security with additional screening and a warning. The Department of Homeland Security says 94% of passengers are already compliant and that the new fee is intended to encourage travelers to obtain the ID.
REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that meets enhanced requirements mandated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Identity is one of those “danger to the flight” things. Like the 9/11 hijackers didn’t bring any weapons on board, they just used force and exploited the compliance of the crew to take control. So if they flag you as a known terrorist, they stop you getting on the plane.
In theory. In practice I don’t think the TSA has stopped a single attempt of terrorism, but I also don’t think we’ve had any attempts since 9/11. Whether that’s due to the existence of the TSA is impossible to say.
Richard Reid did attempt. He almost succeeded too, it was sheer dumb luck that he failed.
They had box cutters didn’t they
They may have just used force to take the planes, but regulations regarding cockpit security were completely revolutionized after 9/11. That same tactic should not work today. Hell, even having a weapon doesn’t really make a hijacking more likely.
The problem was insecure cockpits, not that the authorities didn’t know the identities of the people onboard. There is no actual proven security reason for the TSA collecting this information.
That doesn’t sound right. If there’s a list of wanted or potentially dangerous terrorists or criminals, and I provide ID showing that I am not one of those people, isn’t that a security reason for showing ID?
Who makes that list? The same group of people labeling antifa as terrorists? If a person has no weapons and still is “too dangerous” to be on a plane, why are they not in jail?
ID isn’t making anything more secure in the context of the airport, it’s just surveillance and another way to limit/punish people extrajudicially.
I think that’s the point, they’ll get arrested if they try to fly. Doesn’t that make things more secure?
Sure, if the no fly list was made by putting evidence in front of a judge. It’s not though, people end up on there without being in legal trouble all the time. It can and has been used for political ends, and the lack of transparency makes it effectively useless.
It’s only useless for its stated purpose, not its actual purpose.
Fair point