Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Sunday marked the first day new federal REAL ID rules took effect. If you arrive at a TSA checkpoint at the airport without one, the agency says it can cost you time and it will cost you money.
TSA now requires all passengers who want to pass the checkpoint to board an aircraft to have a real ID compliant, driver's license or other acceptable form of ID, such as a passport, says Amanda Osborn. "On the driver's license, in the top right hand corner, there should be a gold star, and that is an indicator of a Real ID. New York State also issues an enhanced ID, and that will have a flag on the license, and that's considered real ID, an acceptable form of ID. So if you have a gold star and or flag on your New York state license, then you are acceptable," explains Osborn.
Osborn says if you don't have an acceptable form of ID, you'll face delays. "It can take up to five to ten minutes the process with upwards of 30, so we're always advising passengers and if you need to go through the Confirm ID process, if possible, to do that ahead of time before arriving at the checkpoint, if you show up to the travel document checker and you haven't paid that fee and you don't have a compliant ID, you will need to step out of line to complete the process and then rejoin at the end of the line," says Osborn, who notes the fee is $45.
Compliance at Buffalo Niagara International Airport is higher than the national average. Buffalo's compliance rate is 96 percent, compared to the national average of 94 percent.