Airport to Penn State spring breakers: Beware of new security point fee
State College Regional Airport is cautioning Penn State spring breakers they may be subject to a new $45 fee at the security checkpoint.
Travelers without REAL ID or other acceptable identification are required to pay an additional $45 to board a plane after the Transportation Security Administration enacted the new fee Feb. 1. The fee, for a service dubbed ConfirmID, comes as less than half of Pennsylvanians have upgraded their license to REAL ID.
“If students do not have REAL ID or acceptable forms of ID, it is recommended that they go online to tsa.gov and purchase the TSA ConfirmID prior to coming to the airport,” Centre County Airport Authority chief Ralph Stewart said in a news release earlier this month. “Pre-payment can help reduce wait times, prevent delays, and ensure a smoother travel experience during the busy Spring Break period.”
ConfirmID uses biometric information, such as facial scans, to confirm a traveler’s identity. The TSA said in a news release last year the fee would cover a 10-day travel period.
According to the TSA, ConfirmID should take 10 to 15 minutes to complete at the airport, on average, and asked travelers to pay the fee in advance. The vast majority of flyers already comply with REAL ID rules, the agency noted.
It costs $30 to upgrade to REAL ID in Pennsylvania, $15 short of the fee being instituted by the TSA at airports. The driver’s license center in Pleasant Gap offers same-day REAL ID services, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. You are not required to pay an added fee to renew their REAL ID identification.
Other acceptable forms of identification for boarding a flight include passports and military ID cards.
Three and a half million Pennsylvanians already have a REAL ID as of Jan. 5, according to PennDOT spokesperson Leanne Trindel. That’s about 35% of those who have some sort of state identification, and up 400,000 from June 2025.
About 44,500 Centre County residents have a REAL ID, or 46% of ID-holders. The deadline to adopt Real ID for domestic travel and entrance to some federal properties was in May.
The fee, which would only apply to adult flyers, is considerably higher than what the agency proposed in November. The TSA previously stated in a federal filing the fee would be $18. The government estimated in a report that ConfirmID will cost $135 million to operate in its first year, with costs gradually falling as more Americans adopt REAL ID.
REAL ID is a standardized, enhanced form of identification mandated by the federal government in 2005 in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Enforcement at airports, military bases and other secure sites was pushed back several times due to opposition from states and the COVID-19 pandemic.
