The requirement of an ID to fly began as a ‘do something’ policy after the explosion of TWA flight 800. President Clinton demanded to be able to immediately announce new airline security measures, and told his National Security Council team to come up with some.
But it’s not clear that there’s any legal basis to deny air travel without first showing an ID. According to the TSA’s Privacy Officer, the 9th circuit upheld the requirement but that isn’t true. The TSA told the court that there is no such requirement since passengers can fly without ID, and that if it wasn’t legally authorized it would have been challenged in court.
Having gotten the court to uphold its policy by representing that policy it to the court as not requiring passengers to show ID, the TSA can’t now claim that the court’s decision “upheld” a policy requiring passengers to show ID — a policy the TSA specifically disclaimed in that litigation.
…Mr. Pietra went on to suggest that, if the Constitutionality or statutory basis for requiring airline passengers to show ID were in question, the issue would have been litigated. But that ignores the fact that, when Mr. Gilmore tried to litigate exactly this issue, the TSA evaded the issue by denying to the court that it had a policy requiring ID to fly.
About 2,000 people fly each day without ID. Around 700,000 people per year fly without showing valid ID.
- If you don’t have an ID they accept at the checkpoint, you can show two forms of ‘unacceptable’ ID
- If you don’t have any ID, they will ask you challenge questions to establish your identity. They put in a call to their ID Verification Center and ask you the sort of questions that a bank might ask when you set up an account, such as places you’ve lived in the past.
If this weren’t permitted, there would be a constitutional (not just statutory) issue. Indeed, the federal government has continually ducked challenges to the authority of its No Fly Lists, at least with respect to American citizens.
Sorry there is no constitutional right to fly on a plane. You can stretch the constitution freedoms to allow travel (no problem with that) but people can travel in a number of ways and there is nothing that requires it be on a plane. IMHO, security is a “greater good” item that would likely win a court challenge in today’s world. Also, frankly people that object to showing ID to travel (as opposed to the majority of those traveling without it due to loss, forgot it, etc) don’t deserve to travel as they are likely privacy zealots that likely pose a risk to others.
Wow, Gary, you’re sounding more like a ‘sovereign citizen’ motorist, suggesting that we, the traveling public, don’t actually *need* to show our IDs, and proceed to argue some attenuated legal justification for skipping that which nearly everyone else is subjected to. Folks, ignore all that, show your ID, passport, CLEAR, whatever, and try to enjoy your flight.
Having had this happen, I don’t recommend not bringing ID to the airport. We almost missed a flight because of it.
@Retired Gambler – The argument that there is “no constitutional right to fly on a plane” oversimplifies the legal protections surrounding freedom of movement. While the Constitution does not specifically mention air travel, legal precedent recognizes the right to interstate travel as a fundamental liberty protected under the Fifth Amendment and state privileges and immunities clauses. In Gilmore v. Gonzales, the Ninth Circuit upheld the requirement to show ID or undergo secondary screening precisely because the availability of a choice preserved that constitutional right. The government cannot arbitrarily restrict access to one of the most efficient and, for many, necessary forms of modern travel, especially when alternatives like trains or buses may be impractical, unavailable, or inaccessible for certain routes.
Moreover, while security is a legitimate interest, courts have held that regulations must still pass constitutional muster. Rational basis review allows for broad discretion, but it does not give license to enforce secret directives with no public accountability. The lack of transparency surrounding TSA’s policies, combined with the potential for abuse or profiling, raises serious due process and equal protection concerns. Dismissing objectors as “privacy zealots” ignores the broader implications of unchecked government authority. Constitutional rights do not hinge on whether a person is in the majority, nor should they be selectively applied based on convenience or public opinion. The right to travel freely (by modern means) cannot be reduced to a privilege doled out only to those willing to surrender fundamental privacy and civil liberties.
Yeah, go ahead and try it and cite this story as your source. See how far that gets you.
Just show your ID people!
If I’m not mistaken the airlines also wanted the ID requirement for revenue protection reasons.
@Retired Gambler:
I could accept that case within CONUS, and even Alaska thanks to the ferry system, but when you get into Hawaii and Puerto Rico (and the USVI, etc.), you start running into a real problem. There is, for example, no other way to travel between the Hawaiian islands – every attempt at a ferry service has faltered in the last few decades. And all of the above have only air connections, practically speaking, to connect to the rest of the US. So any “freedom of movement” has to practically allow flying in, at a minimum, those situations.
Years ago, there was a tv reality show about Southwest. In one episode, a Karen (before they were called such) caught wind that a fellow pax on the flight had been cleared though he had forgotten ID. She expressed a fear of him and wanted him banned. The WN GA calmly explained that, because of the lack of an ID, he was subject a thorough TSA bag search. Karen was still ranting. The GA remained calm and simply suggested she would gladly book Karen on a later flight, if she was still feeling unsafe. Karen shut up.
Australia does not require ID or a boarding pass to enter a domestic terminal. Anyone willing to go through the TSA-like screening can enter.
TSA doesn’t do ICE enforcement do they? Does this mean undocumented immigrants who have a history of living here can fly without a Real ID?
@ Gary — Please tell this to the lovely TSA witch who I recently argued with about this same topic. I think she was close to tossing me for not respecting her authoratai. Once I cleared security, I asked her supervisor, and she of course agreed with me.
@JohnSF — Many people travel through US airports without ‘Real ID,’ like, non-citizens likely use the passport of their home country; however, I understand what you’re suggesting with undocumented persons. Perhaps, given their status, they do not fly. That must be a challenging way to live/travel, always in fear of detention and deportation. Wish we had a better system than, especially for the children who’ve grown up here for decades, and only know the USA as their home, but simply do not have ‘papers.’ When/where else in history were they violently adamant about ‘papers’? Hmm. But, but… ‘illegals!’ Never mind then. Tough luck for them, it seems. Bi-partisan immigration reform is dead. Woke is dead! *facepalm*
TSA has to be able to reasonably verify who you are. Flying without an ID is difficult if you are “offline” or “off-grid” as it may be. My sister in law’s younger sister had to fly without ever having had a government issued ID (how an 18 year old…. not my circus). Having not had a driving license, a house/rental in her name, insurance, etc., was a bit of a struggle. But TSA advised bring a school ID, prescriptions, pieces of mail, etc. They were able to clear her. It did take a bit and she got the full TSA experience but was able to fly. And the return was easier as I presume she was now a “known” at least for purposes of having done this before. I also had flown in the day before and on my way out of the airport approached the checkpoint and asked for the Transportation Security Manager and asked about the situation… and she told me who exactly should be asked for the next day.
Non-documented persons fly all the time. Yes, they may get extra screening. Some just use their passport from home country and all is fine – in my experience that’s what I’ve seen. TSA is not law enforcement. All they can do is call law enforcement. Most airport police aren’t going to be concerned with a suspected undocumented person trying to travel on a paid ticket. You may have an airport like Laredo where ICE was present just past TSA asking for proof of citizenship before you could exit the area to the gates… they didn’t find it funny when I asked if they’d stamp my US passport. Where I’ve experienced TSA calling law enforcement has been primarily because someone caused a disruption or was overly difficult… or was drunk (my favorite was the pax who didn’t wanna give up his bottle of vodka so he chugged a half liter or so then face planted a few minutes later)…. or had a carry-on bag full of lots and lots of cash (he was flying to Denver to “buy a lot of weed” which the state police at the airport said that’s cool and all but look into the laws on crossing state lines on the return)… or had a carry-on bag full of drugs… or set off the body scanner and TSA did the pat down and found pills duct taped to the inner thigh… etc etc. Of course there are exceptions with every group of TSA and law enforcement. Generally, flying is not going to flag someone unless they are specifically looked for. I’ve also had FBI show up looking for someone who had just murdered a police officer that morning and they weren’t able to do any better than go airline counter to airline counter asking if he was a pax. We had him… had bought a walk-up ticket to LAX and took off an hour prior (dumb idiot….. guess where FBI had agents waiting in 4 hours….).
For no ID… airlines can refuse to carry without. Airlines are private companies. Airline leaseholds in airports such as gates (depending on how airport is structured) and ticket counters can be exclusive areas and similar to private property. They can refuse to take you. Paying passenger without ID who isn’t being a jerk? Probably won’t have a problem.
Undocumented? Remember that most people at the airport aren’t really keen to do something above their pay grade. That usually includes police. The behind the screens threat assessment isn’t checking immigration status. And presenting a valid ID be it a foreign passport or whatever at the TSA checkpoint on a domestic flight won’t make anybody care. Yes, always exceptions, but I’ve seen those 90% of the time be started by the passenger.
I know two people who’ve flown on “affidavits”.
The first was my wife, who left her driver’s license at LGA on the outbound, but was able to return from ORD without ID.
The second is a friend, a Bangladeshi national, who lost his passport in Hawaii. He was able to travel to HNL to OAK, stop there for business, and then continue on to New York using the affidavit process. He was denied at STS (because the airport was “too small”) but the airline (I think United) rebooked him later the same day from SFO.
I’ve also on at least one occasion seen this process explained to someone in front of me at TSA who didn’t have proper ID for someone in their party.
It is a de facto procedure.
Remember people, your I D. is more you than you are.
I am old enough to remember when I could show up at the ticket counter 30 minutes before take off, buy a one way ticket to almost anywhere in the world with cash and have an enjoyable experience. This is the way it should be. The American way. You pussies who love your slavery disgust me.
First person experornce:
I went to DEN.
Had a car pick me up for the hour drive.
Had checked in on my phone previously and had it with me.
Went to the “A” bridge (when AA was still in Terminal A)
Went to the Premium line.
Went up to TSA agent, when I realized I had left my wallet at home.
They had me step aside and do the challenge questions.
Passed.
Went to Admirals Club, and on to Newark.
My wife FedEx’ed me my wallet.
Some of the responses above struck me as just plain stupid.
Life doesn’t always need to be difficult or a fight.
The process is there just for when things like I described happen.
I once boarded a flight with my Costco card. My license was left behind at the DMV of all places (I was able to retrieve it when I got back).