People From These 5 States Will Soon Need Passports to Fly Within the U.S.

No reason was given for why these states and regions were singled out.

by Zaid Jilani

Thanks to provisions in the little-known Real ID Act – passed in 2005 – five states will soon require a passport to fly even within the continental United States.

The Department of Homeland Security has named New York, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, American Samoa, and New Hampshire as locations where the residents will be required to use their passports to fly on commercial airplanes. Although there is no reason given for why these states and regions were singled out, it could possibly be because driver's licenses – the traditional form of identification used at airports – have to be compatible with Real ID requirements, and it's possible that the licenses in these states are not.

As an alternative, the Transportation Security Agency will accept Enhanced Driver's Licenses, which are used in some border states to allow travel to Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean, but few Americans have them.