DALLAS, TX (Headline News USA) (Copyright © 2025) – If there was going to be a meltdown, it didn’t happen at Dallas Love Field.

Wednesday marked the official start of the federal REAL ID enforcement across U.S. airports — the long-delayed post-9/11 security measure requiring travelers to show updated identification at TSA checkpoints. After nearly two decades of buildup and more than a few deadline extensions, many expected hiccups. But at Love Field, travelers mostly rolled with it.

Gretchen Lockhart, a Texas native who now lives in Italy, was back stateside and flying out of Dallas. She wasn’t worried. “I just used my passport,” she said with a shrug, adding that getting a REAL ID-compliant license a few years back had been “easy and stress-free.” She appreciated the extra layer of security. “It just makes it harder to create a false identification,” she told The Dallas Morning News.

That seemed to be the theme of the day — minor inconvenience, offset by a sense of upgraded security.

Stephen Kinigopoulos flew in from Nashville for the Academy of Country Music Awards. He hadn’t gotten around to updating his ID. That bought him an extra 25 minutes of screening at Love Field, including some additional questioning. Still, he took it in stride. “Inconvenience for safety is a good payoff,” he told the paper.

It wasn’t perfect for everyone. Tekeda Jones, traveling from Jackson, Tennessee, brought along a birth certificate and a paper printout showing she had a REAL ID pending. She half-expected a hassle. Instead, she said she breezed through security. “It’s a little bit more secure, just knowing everybody has credentials,” Jones told The Dallas Morning News.

For years, airport signs and TSA agents have warned travelers that this day would eventually come. The law was passed back in 2005, part of a broader effort to tighten ID standards following the 9/11 Commission’s findings. Implementation, however, has been anything but swift — delayed by states balking at the requirements, slow public adoption, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

But now, it’s here. And across the country, the reaction was surprisingly subdued.

At Philadelphia International Airport, TSA agents handed out flyers and gave verbal reminders to travelers without compliant IDs, according to reporting from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Suzy Roberts, flying out of Oakland, California, didn’t have a REAL ID either. She made it through anyway — but TSA told her not to count on that leniency forever.

The Transportation Security Administration estimates that about 81% of travelers already carry compliant IDs. For the rest, passports, permanent resident cards, and certain state-issued Enhanced Driver’s Licenses are still valid. But if you show up without one, expect extra scrutiny — and delays.

The agency is advising travelers to arrive at least three hours early during the adjustment period, especially if there’s any doubt about ID status. “Don’t wait until you’re at the front of the line,” TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told MarketWatch.

Despite years of warnings, some travelers didn’t realize the deadline was real until they were standing at the checkpoint. “I think a lot of people just didn’t believe it would actually happen,” said one TSA officer, speaking on background.

At Love Field, though, travelers seemed more prepared than not. Maybe it’s the signs posted on nearly every surface for the last six months. Maybe it’s the reminder emails from airlines. Or maybe, after two decades of buildup, people were just ready to move on.

“It was time,” Lockhart said. “Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long.”

Photo by Paul Sullivan licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0