Real ID is finally required to fly. Here's how SFO is faring

San Francisco Chronicle​

08-05-2025

Impatient travelers lined up Wednesday morning outside the United Airlines checkpoint at San Francisco International Airport, where crews had posted signs everywhere, warning that a key deadline had arrived.
Starting Wednesday, federal officials require travelers to have security-enhanced Real IDs to board flights or enter certain government buildings. The change provoked widespread consternation, exacerbated after U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told a Congressional panel that people without Real IDs would still be allowed to fly.
But the first day of enforcement unfolded with relative ease.
'So far so good,' said Scott Brown, who had a Real ID in his wallet and planned to fly to Oklahoma that afternoon. 'No hassle,' Brown continued. 'No disruptions. It's not that busy.'
Airport staff had done everything, it seemed, to convey the message. Real ID notifications winked from banners on the SFO website, and from digital screens throughout the terminals. Passengers who spoke with the Chronicle said they were ready, and brandished their identification cards, with an official Real ID star in the upper right hand corner, to prove it.
'Yes, I have my Real ID,' Matthew Ponce de Leon said, rummaging through his bag outside a checkpoint. He expressed surprise that everything had gone smoothly up to that point, though he was running late for a flight to Los Angeles.
A few people stared at the Real ID signs with befuddled expressions. Some fished through their pockets as though to look for a card. Many carried passports, which under the Real ID Act are an acceptable alternative.
'I'm expecting really long security lines,' said Monica Naranjo, who sat on a bench propping her injured leg while she waited for a wheelchair. Though Naranjo has her Real ID, she anticipated that others would blow off the mandate. She got to the airport 2½ hours early.
The law had a stumbling rollout. Many people had no idea how to interpret Noem's remarks, which suggested that the U.S. government might be waffling on its deadline, 20 years after passing the Real ID Act of 2005.
By Wednesday morning, however, the Transportation Security Administration had devised a process for people who showed up without compliant identification. TSA agents handed these violators a red quarter-page flier with a QR code that explained the Real ID law. Authorities picked people at random for additional screenings.
'We're not turning anyone away,' said Lorie Dankers, a TSA spokesperson who observed the first day of enforcement at Los Angeles International Airport.
'I've seen an extremely high rate of compliance,' she said. 'I saw passports, I saw military IDs.'
Staff at SFO who spoke with the Chronicle said they aim to wean people off of regular California IDs and driver's licenses, though no one had a timeline for harsher enforcement.
Like Naranjo, other SFO travelers budgeted extra time on Wednesday, bracing for chaos that ultimately did not happen. Even so, tension was palpable on a San Francisco Airport-bound BART train that passed through Berkeley shortly after 9 a.m. Passengers gripped the handles of their roller suitcases and nervously checked their phones.
Susan and Richard Landon boarded with their luggage in tow, four hours ahead of their scheduled flight to Connecticut. The pair said they had obtained Real IDs a long time ago and carried their passports on Wednesday as a backup.
They didn't want to take any risks.
'I expect there's going to be confusion,' Susan said. 'Maybe they're going to shovel people off to the side,' she added, referring to those who would arrive without federally compliant identification.
Yet, when they walked into Terminal 3, all appeared quiet.