As airports across the country are reporting relatively few issues on the first day of REAL ID enforcement, at least one aviation expert and former pilot tells Fox News Digital he doesn’t expect that kind of peace to last.
“From an airport operations perspective, neither [George W. Bush Intercontinental] or [Houston-Hobby] have responded to any issues,” a representative for Houston’s airports authority said Wednesday.
The official added that Texas law enforcement began issuing REAL IDs nine years ago and that the Lone Star State is well covered with 90% of its population listed as having a REAL ID.
On the other side of the country, an official with the Port Authority, which operates JFK, La Guardia and Newark-Liberty in the New York City area, said there were “no issues” at the latter.
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A Fox News producer reporting from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey was able to go through security with an escort to get lunch without issue.
Officials at Newark Liberty were giving a slip of paper to passengers not yet REAL ID compliant as part of phase 1 of the rollout.
Moving down the Jersey Turnpike to Philadelphia, an official said they are having a “smooth REAL ID Day.”
“Checkpoint lines have been flowing all day and the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has had staff on hand to answer questions and process passengers,” the official said.
“PHL (Philadelphia International Airport) also had its customer care team pre-security to greet passengers and answer or direct questions. We saw most passengers ready with passports or the REAL ID state-issued identification as they approached the checkpoints.”
At the other end of I-95, Miami International Airport reported normal traffic at checkpoints and underlined that over the past year, the hub has partnered with the TSA to communicate with passengers, including terminal-wide signage, about the REAL ID deadline and alternate forms of identification.
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At Charlotte-Douglas in North Carolina, wait times averaged 10 minutes throughout the day, and an official said its staff had been “well-prepared” for the adjustment.
At the busiest airport in the U.S., an official said everything was running smoothly.
“I was just downstairs (near the checkpoint). We did not see any adverse impact,” said Herschel Grangent Jr. of Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta.
Boston-Logan officials echoed that assessment, adding they also utilized the same advertising strategy as Miami for its REAL ID deadline preparation.
“At Logan, our customer service team will have extra staff on hand during the rollout to greet passengers and remind them to have their IDs out before they get into the TSA line,” an official said.
However, former commercial and private pilot Ryan Tseko told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview that any lull won’t last for long.
“The amount of delays it’s going to put on the system is massive,” said Tseko, who formerly worked for United Express and is now a vice president at Cardone Capital.
“I don’t think the public was aware. I think it wasn’t clear,” he said, adding he expects a bottleneck at airports.
“A lot of these people are students who now have to drive up to 12 hours back and forth.”
He predicted that when issues begin appearing, there will be calls to delay full implementation once again, as has been the norm since the Bush era.
Fox News’ Courtney DeGeorge contributed to this report.
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