President Donald Trump says he plans to postpone the October 1 deadline for Americans to obtain a REAL ID card because of the coronavirus outbreak, meaning travelers will be able to fly from U.S. airports without one until a new deadline is established.
“We’re postponing the deadline for compliance with REAL ID requirements,” Trump said Monday during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House. “At a time when we’re asking Americans to maintain social distancing, we do want to require people to go with their local DMV. We will be announcing the new deadline very soon.”
The REAL ID Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2005 and established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards.
REAL IDs will eventually be needed by anyone looking to enter federal facilities, enter nuclear power plants, and most importantly board any federally regulated commercial aircraft.
Travelers would have needed a REAL ID card to fly on domestic airlines by Oct. 1, unless they carried a passport.
