Originally Posted by
rickg523
Couldn't agree more. ID check is a government service afforded to airlines to assist their business model in a deregulated-fare environment. All it really does is eliminate the possibility of a secondary market for the resale of tickets at rates cheaper than walk-ups. In the regulated-fare days, tickets were essentially coupons. Since the fare didn't change as departure approached, the carriers didn't care who flew, just that the ticket was paid for.
While it might have that benefit for the airlines that is not it's raison d'etre. The primary reason is to give another opportunity for interaction with security personnel to identify anomalies and behavior that warrant additional scrutiny resulting in the detection, prevention and possibly deterrence of an attack. It is another of the many-layers of the risk-based security approach.