Travelers passing through Manchester airport fly through security on first day of Real ID
Darcie Wigfall of Salem didn't have any delays getting through airport security for her girls trip to Florida on Wednesday.
With a Real-ID compliant and newly designed New Hampshire driver's license, she sailed through the Transportation Security Administration's checkpoint at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. It was the first day every traveler 18 or older was required to have a Real ID or passport, or face extra screening to fly within the U.S.
For Wigfall and most others, it was a breeze, even with the redesigned IDs, which gave some TSA agents scanning troubles in other parts of the country since the new licenses rolled out in January.
Wigfall gave a thumbs-up as a TSA agent quickly checked her in, just as fast as one of her companions who all had Real IDs.
'They better not (have difficulties). Not today,' Wigfall said of the new license before going through security. 'They better not give me a hard time.'
They didn't.
Nor did TSA agents in Orlando, Florida, give a hard time to Gilford's Becky Orton, who flew back to New Hampshire on Wednesday morning without a Real ID-compliant driver's license. Orton made it with only a brief pause for extra screening, which was mostly just security agents swabbing her hands while verifying she was who she said she was.
'I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but they just pulled me aside and basically swabbed my palms,' Orton said. 'That was it. I gave my license. Oh, and they called me non-compliant.'
How long did it take?
'Two seconds,' Orton said.
Before coming home though, Orton did do her due diligence by having her passport mailed to Florida because she anticipated extra scrutiny flying back the day Real ID enforcement went into effect.
Sadly, her passport didn't arrive in time, but thankfully it wasn't a big deal, she said.
Nearly everyone who came through Manchester-Boston Regional Airport had a mostly normal experience Wednesday, said Elizabeth Selecky, federal security director for the TSA in New Hampshire.
'We've had a really strong showing of folks who are arriving with compliant IDs. Initially, it started out in the morning around 98% compliant, and we're still hovering around the 90% area,' Selecky around 12:30 p.m.
Passing the test in NH
John Marasco, the state's Division of Motor Vehicles director, said earlier this week the TSA informed him 62% of the credential authentication technology scanners had been upgraded nationwide. The other 38% of machines are expected to be able to accept the state's new licenses by May 12, he said.
The Department of Homeland Security certified New Hampshire's new design as compliant on March 27. The CAT scanner upgrades were given priority in Manchester and the state's two other commercial airports in Portsmouth and Lebanon. Some problems have persisted at other smaller airports scattered around the U.S., and some Granite Staters coming into Boston Logan International Airport had reported scanners rejecting the new licenses earlier this year.
Last week, the DMV and TSA tried to assure residents anyone with the new licenses or state-issued IDs should be able to travel without long delays. Both urged residents to bring a passport just in case.
Public awareness pays off
Not only has the DMV executed a media blitz for the last year to make sure residents understood how, why and when they should get a Real ID, the TSA did its part as well.
Leading up to the deadline, Selecky and officials from the Manchester airport and Londonderry Police had a table near the entrance to the TSA checkpoint with games and information for travelers to help make something as mundane as having the proper ID fun and engaging for the public, she said.
'Because people were traveling out ahead of the kickoff date, they'd be traveling back after Real ID enforcement went fully into effect. So, it was just a good opportunity to answer those questions ahead of kickoff,' Selecky said.
She said most travelers were well-informed and already had compliant IDs.
Safety in the air
The Real ID Act came about after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The goal of the program was to establish national safety standards and be able to verify the identities of anyone flying commercially or entering a federal building or nuclear power plant.
Selecky said the bottom line is public safety.
'It's an additional layer of security and also something where it helps ensure that people are who they say they are,' she said.
For more information about the Real ID, visit dmv.nh.gov/drivers-licensenon-driver-ids/real-id.
dpierce@unionleader.com
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