April 30, 2025
(CE Noticias Financieras)
–
Aerostar Airport Holdings
, administrator of the Luis Muñoz Marín
International Airport
, offered details on the implementation of the Real ID, a document that will be required for domestic travel nationwide for all passengers with
U.S.
citizenship starting next
Wednesday, May 7
.
It is a license or photo ID issued by a
U.S.
state or territory that must have a gold or gold-bordered star in the upper right-hand corner. The initiative arises as a method of identification for people who do not use their passport and make use of their license or ID card to travel.
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Likewise, the document, created through the Security Act of 2005, after the
September 11, 2001
attacks, will be required to travel through all certified
U.S.
airports, including those in San Juan, Ponce and Aguadilla.
"The Real ID is going to allow you to be able to travel safely and for us to have certainty that whoever is getting on that process to board the plane is the person they say they are. All people who try to use fraudulent IDs, we have the technology to detect them," said
Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) spokesman
José Joy Martínez
.
On the other hand, he detailed that people who are going to travel and do not have Real ID could face "delays in the process" when boarding.
"All people arriving at the airport without a Real ID could be subject to processing delays. We are going to have some additional processes to be able to verify, to be able to verify. It could be delayed, as well as they might not travel. This would be the extreme case. We understand that everyone will be able to travel in this initial process. Once they are subjected to an additional process, they should arrive at the airport with more time," he added to questions from Metro Puerto Rico.
In addition, people with illegal immigration status in
the United States
will not be able to travel, unless it is to leave the country. The
TSA
will have technology to detect fraudulent IDs. Likewise, people will not be able to use previously issued licenses or IDs that do not have the star that certifies them as Real ID.
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For his part, Aerostar CEO
Jorge Hernandez
emphasized the importance of orienting travelers on this requirement.
"This is a nationwide issue, it is not an issue exclusive to
Puerto Rico
. All airports in
the United States
go into effect on the same day,
May 7
. So what we want is that, at least, our passengers, the people who reside in
Puerto Rico
, are as informed and better prepared as possible for when this goes into effect," he said at a press conference.
Currently, in
Puerto Rico
, 1.8 million people have obtained their Real ID, and the
Driver Service Centers
(CESCO) are certified to issue this type of document.
The requirements to obtain a Real ID are:
According to Driver Services Director
Mary Fuster Romero
, citizens will be able to use five
Department of State
(DOS) integrated service centers that have
CESCO
windows.
"We also have integrated service centers that belong to the
Department of State
. There are five integrated service centers where you can visit them and apply for the Real ID. They would be the Minillas, Loíza, Vieques, Yauco and Guaynabo integrated service centers. So there are several places where you can apply," Fuster Romero explained at a press conference.
In turn, the IDs that will be accepted as an alternative to the Real ID include:
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