REAL ID: The upcoming May 7 deadline requires all US travelers to have a REAL ID-compliant license or identification to board domestic flights. If a flyer does not have a REAl ID-compliant identity card, then he or she will have to show a passport for even domestic flying. After the 9/11 attacks, the REAL ID Act of 2005 was passed by Congress to set stricter standards for identification used to access federal facilities, board commercial flights, or enter nuclear power plants.