Key TSA change will affect millions of passengers – and has been 20 years in the making
The new REAL ID travel regulations were approved in 2005 after being designed in response to 9/11, but have only been applied this year
A new TSA change will impact millions of passengers across the USA, despite taking 20 years for it to come into law.
Under new rules, as of May 7, people who travel on internal flights within the USA have to carry a new form of identification called the REAL ID introduced by the TSA (Transportation Security Administration).
The REAL ID is a form of federal identification, so it applies nationwide rather than in a particular state, that comes with higher security standards than others.
The logic behind the REAL ID was so that no-one can theoretically get onto an aircraft in the USA without being properly identified, and it was first proposed after 9/11 terrorist attacks.
However, although it was approved four years later in 2005, it is only now in 2025 that it has been fully implemented and is therefore required in all federal facilities as well as airports.
As a result, this change is due to impact the millions of Americans who take domestic flights every single year.
This isn’t the first time the TSA and its rules have been in the news in recent weeks.
According to Union Rayo, they have banned the transportation of portable chargers and other electronic devices in checked in luggage.
In a statement on their website, the TSA said: “Portable chargers or power banks containing a lithium ion battery must be packed in carry-on bags.
“Spare lithium batteries, which include both power banks and phone chargers, are prohibited in checked luggage.”
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While the TSA is reportedly prohibiting the carrying of power banks in checked in luggage, there have been questions over how the Trump administration’s own new travel rules will affect the upcoming 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Earlier this year, the administration introduced a travel ban on 12 countries, raising questions about their ability to compete in the Olympics.
However, according to reports there may be exceptions for athletes travelling from those countries to the USA for the Summer Games, under section four of the travel ban.
The legislation says that “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state”.
