TSA security has many rules to follow before boarding a flight. Know them to make getting through security quick and easy.

What happens if passengers forget ID or lose it? Can they fly?

If you are a US citizen or resident traveling in the U.S. and your government-issued photo ID is lost or stolen—or worse, if you’re in a foreign country and your passport is lost or stolen— you don’t have to panic about going through TSA security. Your fate won’t be the same as Charlie’s in the Kingston Trio’s song, “The Man Who Never Returned.”

When your driver’s license goes missing, immediately file a police report.

A traveler who had been stopped at the TSA security checkpoint, without proper identification, was asked about whether or not a police report had been filed about the lost ID. TSA security checked with the department and the police faxed a copy of the report. She presented the police report to the TSA security agent at the entrance to security. Seeing the report, the TSA security agent asked if she had a Costco card. She did. She caught a break, but you can’t depend on every TSA security officer accepting one. The Costco card has its member’s photo embedded in the card. She got through security and flew home.

Most of us don’t have some kind of second photo ID when we travel, but we still can get through TSA security when traveling in the US if our government-issued photo ID has been lost or stolen.

What happens if passenger forget ID was originally published on Travelers United Blog by Ned Levi.

According to TSA,

Adult passengers (18 and over) are required to show a US federal or state-issued photo ID … in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint and onto their flight.

Passengers who do not or cannot present an acceptable ID will have to provide information to the TSA security Officer performing Travel Document Checking duties in order to verify their identity. Passengers who are cleared through this process may be subject to additional screening. Passengers whose identity cannot be verified by TSA security may not be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint or onto an airplane.

How can you ensure, to the extent possible, you’ll be able to fly home, if your photo ID, and especially if all your IDs, are lost or stolen while traveling?

It takes preparation and common sense.

Before you leave, make three color copies of the front and back of your government issued photo ID. Leave one at home, give one to a friend, and take one with you. Keep the one you take with you separate from your actual photo ID. I usually travel with it in my carry-on, then leave it in the room or hotel safe when not in transit. The one at your friend’s is in case your copy disappears, and the one at home so someone could retrieve it, in case your friend isn’t available. If your copy is missing, you can have the others faxed or “over-nighted” to you.

File a police report. You want to prove to TSA you can’t produce your photo ID. You’ll need a copy of the report to show TSA at the airport.

At the airport, with the police report and the color copy of your photo ID, it’s highly likely TSA will accept the two as acceptable identity verification. They might put you through some secondary screening, but you should be able to fly.

If you’re out of the country, and your U.S. passport is lost or stolen, again, don’t panic. You’ll be fine using common sense and a little preparation.

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Travel Rights provides the “rules of travel” for travelers to help them avoid problems and get the best possible service available with the fewest hassles.

This book outlines the basic rules, regulations, and policies that dictate how airlines, automobile rental companies, hotels, railroads, and the new sharing economy work with their customers. This is not a book about “Travel Secrets” or “Insider Tricks,” simply your travel rights.

Even seasoned travelers have been faced with travel hassles—being bumped off an airline flight, missing connections because of a late arrival, having baggage lost, or being delayed by weather. Others have been faced with rental car reservations that have disappeared or been uncertain as to  whether they really needed that collision damage waiver counter personnel present when signing rental contracts.

When everything works well, business and vacation travelers return with smiles on their faces. But, when things go wrong, those smiles can change to frustrated frowns and anger.

So, be prepared when travel goes awry. It’s the travelers who know their travel rights who get to their destination — on time and with all their belongings, or who get the service or refunds they deserve.

Getting the word out

Airlines, automobile rental companies and credit card issuers all spend small fortunes attempting to let travelers know about all the deals and benefits available to them. But the information is overwhelming and it comes in scores of brochures, with credit card bills, on the back of airline tickets, in fine print on car rental agreements, with coupons in grocery stores, tucked in marketing pitches, and on Internet Web sites.
Travel Rights takes that hard-to-read information from obscure places in travel documents and makes it easy to find, easy to read and easy to use. When travelers know their travel rights, they know what they can expect from the travel industry.

What are Travel Rights?

The more specific information travelers know about this system of airline assistance, as well as the complicated airline ticketing options and scores of special passenger services, the better they can take advantage of these options when traveling.

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Taking extra precautions in terms of baggage handling and baggage problems can make a difference when traveling. Know your rights and travel smarter.

Between the time passengers check in their luggage and the time they claim it at their destination, it may have passed through a maze of conveyor belts, baggage carts, and forklifts; when airborne, it may have tumbled around the cargo compartment in rough air. In all fairness to the airlines, however, relatively few bags are damaged or lost. With some common sense packing and other precautions, checked baggage will probably arrive safely and baggage problems can be avoided.

Pack to avoid baggage problems. Some items should never be put into checked bags in the cargo system—money, jewelry, cameras, medicine, liquids, glass, negotiable securities, or any other things that are valuable, irreplaceable, delicate, or of sentimental value. These and anything else absolutely needed for a trip should be packed in a carry-on bag that will fit under the seat. Remember, the only way to be sure valuables are not damaged or lost is to keep them with you.

Some seasoned travelers recommend carrying enough clothing and personal items with them in carry-on luggage to last 48 hours.

Baggage check-in time limits

This is a little-known rule, but it can be very important. All airlines have baggage check-in time limits which specify how long before a flight bags must be checked in order for the airline to be responsible for timely delivery of that baggage to its destination. This also helps to avoid baggage problems.

Baggage limits and excess luggage charges

On domestic flights you are normally limited to a total of three pieces of luggage (this includes checked and carry-on bags). Again, this varies by airline.

The bags checked should be labeled—inside and out—with your name, address and phone number. Add the name and address of a person to contact at your destination if it’s practical. Almost all bags misplaced by airlines do turn up sooner or later. With proper labeling, the baggage problem and the bag and its owner can usually be reunited within a few hours.

Some airlines provide boxes for bulky items and garment bags. These boxes help bags arrive intact and are often free for the asking, but may also be available for a nominal fee.

Lock bags to help prevent pilferage. (If TSA decides to check baggage, these locks that are not able to be opened with a TSA skeleton key will be cut off.) Remove any shoulder straps and stow them inside to prevent your bags from getting hung up in the baggage-handling machinery, creating a baggage problem. But if bags do arrive with broken locks or torn sides, check inside immediately. If something is missing, report it to the airline right away. Plus, airlines are responsible for the damage to the exterior of baggage.

If planning to check any electrical equipment, small appliances, pottery, glassware, musical instruments or other fragile items, they should be packed in a container specifically designed to survive rough handling—preferably a factory-sealed carton or a padded hard-shell carrying case.

At check-in, the airline will put baggage destination tags on checked luggage and provide the stubs to use as claim checks. Each tag has a three-letter airport code and flight number that show the baggage sorters to what airport and on which flight the checked luggage should go. Double-check the tag and flight number before checked bags go down the conveyor belt. (The airline will be glad to provide the code for any destination when buying tickets, or at the check-in counter.)

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