New fee in place for air travelers without Real ID or acceptable identification

Right now, deadline day for Real ID has arrived.

People who don't have the ID or another acceptable form of identification will have to pay an extra $45 to fly.

To get on any flight now, you need to have that star on the corner of your driver's license or state ID.

This is nothing new. In fact, there are still signs all around Midway airport that remind people that the Real ID penalty went into effect last May. The only thing new is the $45 fee.

"I have mine," traveler Linda Graves said.

She and her husband, Kirk, are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

"I do not have a real id," he said. "I have been struggling with an appointment to get the Real ID."

"I do have mine. I've had mine for probably a year now at least," said Kelly Esparza.

Same with Kelly and her husband, Mark.

"I don't have it, I'm a guy, we don't do that kind of stuff," Mark said jokingly.

Both Kirk and Mark say they showed TSA their passport, one of the other valid forms of identification, including a Department of Homeland Security trusted traveler card, a permanent resident card, or a border crossing card if you don't have a Real ID.

"You could be in risk of not making your flight," said Steve Lorincz, TSA executive administrator of security operations.

Lorincz spoke with CBS News about the new fee.

"We wanna make sure that the system is modernized," he said. "We wanna make sure that we're covering down on the latest technology. We're also ensuring that in this situation, this cost is not beared by the taxpayers. This cost is beared by the individual that doesn't have an ID-compliant driver's license."

The TSA said 94% of flyers have a compliant ID. For those who don't have a Real ID or a compliant form, staff at Midway said there are QR codes at TSA checkpoints.

That will take people to a website for the TSA ConfirmID program to answer questions and pay the fee. Once the fee is paid, travelers are good for 10 days, and they can pay before they get to the airport.

Some, like Gloria Waddell, said it's annoying but makes sense.

"I hate to say that, but it has been a lot of notice. It is hard to get over and get it done, and there are lines, and there's a lot of reasons why people don't do it. I would hate to have to pay that, but I guess they would have to do something to get people to get it done," she said.

Over at O'Hare, there did not seem to be too many people who didn't have their Real ID or passport. Makayla Rediehs was prepared with her Real ID but didn't know about the penalty.

"I did not know that. That's crazy. It's a lot of money," Rediehs said. "I saw all the signs, so I definitely got it. I didn't want to be behind."

Eric Anderson was excited to say he was prepared with his Real ID, but was also a little skeptical about the fee for those who don't have theirs.

"To me, that sounds like it's not all about security, because, you know, we were told we had to get the Real ID for security reasons, but then, if you don't have, well, you can just slide on by with 45 bucks," Anderson said. "So, what do we got going on here?

If you must pay the fee, TSA said flyers should allow 15 to 30 extra minutes to get through security, and more if you are paying on the spot.

The Real ID Supercenter in Chicago's Loop is still taking walk-ins for anyone who needs one.

Flyers who don't have Real IDs and choose not to pay the $45 fee may be denied at TSA checkpoints.  

CBS Chicago reached out to the TSA. While they didn't have specific numbers on how many travelers paid for ConfirmID, they called the nationwide rollout a "success."