Originally Posted by C17PSGR
Also, the theory that there is no ID requirement to fly is an urban legend. While the ID requirement is not spelled out in the TSA's statutes or regulations, there are apparently a series of classified security directives which spell out this requirement.
You're sorta correct and sorta not.
Yes, the feds have demanded that airlines [b]request/ask for/require[b] all their passengers to show ID.
But the Security Directives don't prohibit airlines from flying passengers without ID - as long as the airline is confident of identity and the passenger is given the full SSSS-style treatment. They just require that airlines hassle their customers for ID.
So the airlines get to blame the feds for a policy they believe in, while the feds and the airlines aren't blamed for grounding a person in case a passenger loses/refuses to show/etc their ID - the passenger can still fly.