Old driver’s license? You can still fly for 2 more years

NEW YORK – Fliers who don’t have the latest driver’s licenses will have a two-year reprieve before their IDs are rejected at airport security checkpoints.

Many travelers had been worried the Transportation Security Administration would penalize them because of a federal law requiring newer, more-stringent IDs at the start of this year.

But Friday, the Department of Homeland Security said passengers could continue using their IDs until Jan. 22, 2018. Some would have until Oct. 1, 2020.

After those dates, passengers without the proper driver’s licenses would have to use other federally-approved forms of ID such as a passport.

The Real ID Act, approved by Congress in 2005, set standards for licenses in response to security concerns following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Currently, 23 states and U.S. territories have complied with the act, and 27 states and territories have been granted an extension. Five states – Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Missouri and Washington – and American Samoa have not complied and have not been granted an extension.

State officials say storing information that license applicants present as proof of identity could be breached or tracked.