Secure Flight Will Make All Passengers Obtain a New Government ID to Fly
Myth Busters
Myth
Under the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for the Secure Flight program, every U.S. traveler will be required to obtain a new government-issued ID before being allowed to fly.
Buster
Not true. There will be no new government-issued ID required in order to fly.
Under Secure Flight, TSA expects to clear the vast majority of passengers through its fully-automated watch list matching process.
This process simply matches information provided to airlines by passengers during the reservation process (like full name, date of birth and itinerary) to the no-fly and selectee lists.
Some passengers may be asked to produce an existing government-issued identification - such as a current driver's license or passport - to verify information provided to the airline during the reservation process. This additional scrutiny would be necessary only in cases when the personal data provided by the passenger at the time of reservation/check-in at the airport is insufficient to check them against the no-fly and selectee lists.
