Real ID. How bad will the bedlam be at the airports on May 7th?

[Mako]

Real ID. How bad will the bedlam be at the airports on May 7th? I have the opportunity to go to Los Angeles on the 15th but I'm holding off buying tickets until I see what the airport situation is starting on the 7th. No matter if you have a Real ID or not I think the airports are going to be total chaos if they actually attempt to enforce it.

If they try to enforce it the ticket counters and TSA will be a total log jam.

[slimslob]

IMHO there will be very little additional delay. Remember mostly international flights will be affected. Most Real ID checks will and in fact have been taking place at the time of making a flight reservation. The only thing that will happen at the ticket counter or check in counter is you show your ID to prove that you are not trying to steal someone else's reservation. And that should be being done anyway. There may need to be some changes in curbside check in. Plus there could be some delays at regional hubs when change of flights might also mean change of carrier requiring that you have to exit the secured area and reenter at the next carrier. You will then need to have your ID checked again. One of the best solutions is to have a valid passport and install the passport app on your cell phone. NFC tap to identify.

[Mako]

IMHO there will be very little additional delay. Remember mostly international flights will be affected. Most Real ID checks will and in fact have been taking place at the time of making a flight reservation. The only thing that will happen at the ticket counter or check in counter is you show your ID to prove that you are not trying to steal someone else's reservation. And that should be being done anyway. There may need to be some changes in curbside check in. Plus there could be some delays at regional hubs when change of flights might also mean change of carrier requiring that you have to exit the secured area and reenter at the next carrier. You will then need to have your ID checked again. One of the best solutions is to have a valid passport and install the passport app on your cell phone. NFC tap to identify.

This is 100% about domestic flights, not international. You don't need any form of ID to purchase an airline ticket. You don't get asked for an ID until check in or the TSA checkpoint.
The delay won't be about your ID, it will be about all of the people in front of you. If 20% of the people who show up at the airport don't have Real ID the backups will be insane if they try to stop those people from travelling.

[Mako]

Sitting waiting for a flight. No Real ID. No Passport. No Problem. They are not enforcing it at all.