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With the New Year come new regulations every traveler should know about, namely TSA’s REAL ID Act, which has been all over the media since January 1st. Most recently, we learned that travelers who don't have the latest driver's licenses will have a two-year grace period before their IDs are rejected at airport security checkpoints.
The Department of Homeland Security officially announced that passengers could continue using their current IDs until Jan. 22, 2018. Some would have until Oct. 1, 2020. After those dates, passengers without the proper driver's licenses would have to use other federally-approved forms of ID such as a passport.
Now that travelers do not need to be concerned with the REAL ID Act right away, there are several other ways travelers should plan for both domestic and international travel in 2016.
With increased terrorism globally there will be much more random scrutiny of U.S. Citizens traveling domestically and internationally. The TSA Pre✓® will help expedite your travel flying domestically and exiting the U.S. There will be record-breaking travel and number of passengers in 2016 so having TSA Pre✓® will get you through security much faster and eliminates ‘secondary screening’ by TSA.
GOES (Global Entry) expedites your departure from an international destination into the U.S and then eliminate going through Customs once you arrive in the US. Again, there will be an enormous amount of ‘secondary screening’ coming into the USA this year so it is a true benefit of having Global Entry if you travel a lot internationally.
Both TSA Pre✓ and GOES will save travelers time and the hassle that is typically associated with busy airports.
Tom Spagnola, Senior Vice President of Supplier Relations for CheapOair, a leading hybrid travel agency.
January 28, 2023
