Make sure you get your Real ID soon!

If you've traveled in a U.S. airport in the last few years, you've probably seen those signs that say something like "Real ID is coming" as you get in line for airport security.

You might think "Ummm I'm pretty sure my ID is real. What is this Real ID that is apparently coming for me?"

 

While your ID might be real, it might not be Real.

 

Allow me to explain:

 

About 20 years ago in the wake of 9/11, Congress passed the Real ID Act, which set higher standards for government-issued identification, including more high-tech driver's licenses and ID cards.

 

These new "Real IDs" were supposed to be required to travel by the Department of Homeland Security as of October 2020. Of course, 2020 didn't go as planned for anybody... especially not in the travel industry. 

 

However, the deadline for requiring Real ID to travel is now just six months away, in May 2023.

 

That means that if you don't have a Real ID at the airport, you will not be allowed to pass through security or board your flight.

 

The good news is that you might already have a Real ID and not even know it. And if you don't, it's not that hard to fix. But you might want to start planning now.

 

The DHS has put out some helpful tips for determining if your ID is a Real ID, including the following graphic:

In case you want to be EXTRA careful, they also have a helpful tool on their website that will tell you if your ID is Real, along with links to help you get a Real ID if you don't already have one.

 

Getting a Real ID is very simple. Every state is now Real ID-compliant, meaning if you renew your ID or license or apply for a new one, it will be a Real ID.

 

The process and fees vary by state, but the link I gave you in the previous paragraph will answer any questions you may have about your specific circumstances.

 

May 2023 may seem far away, but these things can creep up on you. Plus, if you've ever scheduled an appointment at the DMV, you know that it can be a needlessly painful, drawn-out, soul-destroying process...

So better to get it out of the way now rather than deal with the last-minute rush.

 

Okay, I'm going to stop talking about this now. I've used the word "Real" so many times in the last 5 minutes that it's starting to look and sound weird.

In other news, Hyatt has entered the hunger games of hotel deals, putting their cards on the table with a 20% discount on stays at over 950 hotels worldwide, with an additional discount for World of Hyatt members.

 

Here are the deets:

While this is certainly an amazing deal, it might be worth looking into which hotels the offer is good for before you get too excited. On the promo page of their website you can see a list of which hotels are offering this promo in different regions around the world:

This is an excellent promotion to take advantage of if you can. Many of the other hotel chains are offering great promos in the form of extra elite nights or bonus points, but Hyatt has taken a different approach: saving you money. In my opinion, spending less is almost always better than extra points, especially with such a huge discount.

 

Just from a couple of quick searches, I was able to find hotels for as little as $50 per night in Europe and around $60 per night in Southeast Asia, and I'm sure there are equally good deals in other parts of the world.

Given the long timeframes for both booking your stay and actually completing your stay, this shouldn't be very difficult to find value from.

Okay, it's time to nerd out just a little bit about some plane stuff...

 

Last month an already-unique flight became even more unique when an unexpected emergency caused a diversion.

 

TUI airlines, a British charter airline, was operating a flight between Doncaster, UK, and Melbourne, Florida (near Orlando). That might seem like a strange route because it is.

 

While there are plenty of flights between cities like London and Manchester and Orlando and Miami, it's weird to see a flight from a small regional airport in Europe to a small, regional airport in Florida... especially one operated by a massive 787 Dreamliner.

 

Anyway, about 6 hours into the flight, one of the pilots came down with a bad case of food poisoning and became incapacitated... I feel for you, buddy... Food poisoning is already bad enough, but it must've been horrible when you're piloting a plane with hundreds of passengers over the Atlantic ocean.

 

Anyway, the one remaining pilot (this flight didn't have any relief pilots) ended up landing the plane on his own... in Bangor, Maine - yet another small, regional airport.

And here's where things get even more interesting.

 

Bangor is not equipped to handle large international flights. The airport typically deals with small planes on domestic short-haul routes. Additionally, TUI doesn't have spare pilots sitting in Bangor. So how did TUI get more pilots to Maine? 

 

Well, they diverted another one of their flights from Birmingham to Melbourne, this time carrying some extra pilots and crew.

 

They dropped off the extra pilot and both flights left shortly after, heading to Melbourne Florida.

 

This created a cool scenario; two British-based Boeing 787 Dreamliners taking off at the same time from Bangor, Maine, to Melbourne, Florida.

 

I don't know if any one of you finds this as interesting as I do, but I'm both really interested in the unique routes that this incident created and impressed by just how safe and efficient the aviation industry can be, even in unexpected, highly unfortunate situations.

That's all for today, folks. I just arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal late last night and am looking forward to spending some time exploring the city after the most hectic 72 hours of travel I've ever had... Always have a backup plan in case flights get cancelled. Or in my case, if two back-to-back flights get cancelled 😑

 

Do you have a Real ID yet? Have you ever been on a flight that got diverted unexpectedly? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

 

Take care,

Head Writer, The Daily Drop