South Carolina granted extension on ID requirements at airports

South Carolina was granted an extension through October to meet federal rules on drivers licenses that will be required in the future for airline passengers to pass through security gates at airports nationwide.

Kirk Lovell, assistant director of Horry County Airports, said the extension for South Carolina was granted Tuesday for drivers licenses to meet certain security requirements, however the airport has not been informed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials as to when the new screening law will take effect at airports nationwide.

“It seems like a simple question, but we aren’t getting answers,” Lovell said.

“When people are traveling, we want to reduce their stress as much as possible,” Lovell said. “We want our passengers to know what to expect when they travel or use our airport.”

Asked when the federal agency will implement the new law approved by Congress a decade ago, Homeland Security spokeswoman Amanda DeGroff responded in an email that no decision has been made, but included an Oct. 9 press release that predicted a decision would have been made by this week.

“DHS plans to announce the schedule for any changes to air travel requirements by the end of the year, and will ensure that state governments and the traveling public are notified at least 120 days in advance of implementation,” the October press release said.

If the law does go into effect in early 2016, South Carolina residents will not be affected and their current drivers licenses will be accepted at airports nationwide until October. It will be up to state officials to change drivers licenses security features by the October deadline.

The new screening mandates were passed by Congress in 2005 as part of the Real ID Act, in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Several states have refused to implement the new security requirements for drivers licenses citing the similarities to national identification cards.

Hudson can be reached at 843-444-1765.

Twitter: @AudreyHudson

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 2:38 PM with the headline "South Carolina granted extension on ID requirements at airports."