"Passengers will be required to pay $45 in lieu of having a Real ID to cover an additional biometric screening for security. The screening process will take 10-30 minutes. The fee, which can be paid online in advance or in person, is valid for 10 days atairlines security check points. After that a traveler will have to pay again. The fee will cover the technology and security software needed.The fee is intended to stay in place, a senior TSA official said, but it will also "be dependent on the compliance rates that we see from the traveling population." Travelers can still use a passport as a form of ID to fly domestically, too."
"Roughly 6% of travelers can use this fee option. The other 94% are already using compliant IDs, according to figures shared by senior TSA officials in a briefing Monday. Without the additional data gathering covered by the new fee, travelers might not make it past security, the official said. "If we cannot confirm your identity, you will not be able to get to the security checkpoint, and that is the case today," a senior TSA official said."
Beginning Feb. 1, 2026, travelers lacking a Real ID must pay a $45 fee for an additional biometric screening to access airport security. The biometric screening will take about 10–30 minutes and can be paid online in advance or in person. Each payment grants access to airline security checkpoints for 10 days, after which the fee must be repaid. The fee funds biometric technology and security software and is intended to remain in place, contingent on traveler compliance rates. Passports remain acceptable for domestic flights. Approximately 6% of travelers are expected to use this fee option; 94% have compliant IDs.
Read at Axios
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