Airports Council Welcomes Postponement of REAL ID Implementation

March 23, 2020

WASHINGTON – Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) President and CEO Kevin M. Burke today welcomed the announcement by President Donald J. Trump to postpone the implementation of REAL ID travel identification requirements in the wake of the coronavirus global health pandemic.  REAL ID implementation was set to begin on October 1, 2020.

“We welcome President Trump’s announcement to postpone the implementation of REAL ID for passengers boarding commercial aircraft. In a time of social distancing and requests for people to stay home, now is not the time to be sending more people to their local departments of motor vehicles.  This prudent action will allow individuals more time to obtain REAL ID-compliant drivers licenses while preventing any travel disruptions and further harm to the U.S. aviation system. As the first trade association to call for an extension over low adoption of REAL ID travel identification, we remain committed to working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on implementing REAL ID at the appropriate time.  Given the immense uncertainty facing the air travel industry right now, a two-year postponement should provide time for the industry to fully recover while giving DHS, passengers, states, and the departments of motor vehicles time to prepare for a more efficient implementation of REAL ID.”

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About ACI-NA

Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) represents local, regional, and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Approximately 380 aviation-related businesses are also members of ACI-NA, providing goods and services to airports. Collectively, U.S. airports support more than 11.5 million jobs and account for $1.4 trillion in economic activity – or more than seven percent of the total U.S. GDP. Canadian airports support 405,000 jobs and contribute C$35 billion to Canada’s GDP. Learn more at www.airportscouncil.org.