What's the point of government officials checking IDs on domestic flights? [duplicate]
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I know that in the US and in India people flying on domestic routes are required by the government to carry photo ID. I could understand why the airline might want to check IDs - it's helping them avoid scalpers and ticket resellers. But what's the point of that requirement from the government's point of view?
In theory, everyone who gets through security are supposed to be checked throughly, so it should be completely irrelevant who's actually flying the route. Likewise immigration is not a concern on domestic flights so again the identity of the traveler should not be of concern.
Best Answer
That is actually not correct; in the USA, you can fly domestically without an ID.
Here is a link to TSA's website that explains it: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification (scroll down!)
If you read up on TSA regulations (and read other questions/answers regarding this topic), you will find that it is allowed - although they certainly don't make it easy.
You will need to answer a lot of questions and might need some extra time, and depending on the TSA agent, he might simply send you away (incorrectly). Certainly not a recommendable experience, but legal.
The ID checks at security are to verify that only people actually flying are allowed into the secured zone; simply to reduce the total number of people that need to be scanned and processed - in the old times, often half the family and some friends would see people to the gate.
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