OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly said he is trying to get a Real ID office for Owensboro.
Real ID is a federally mandated form of identification that meets new security standards for state driver’s licenses and identification cards. Beginning Oct. 1, Real ID compliant identification or certain acceptable alternatives, like a passport, will be necessary to board airplanes or visit military bases and some other federal facilities.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has named 12 regional Real ID offices, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports. They are in Paducah, Madisonville, Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Louisville, Lexington, Florence, Somerset, Manchester, Jackson, Prestonsburg and Morehead.
“I have talked to them about the fourth-largest city in the commonwealth not having a Real ID office,” Mattingly told the paper. “It is a mess. It should have been done two years ago.”
Not having a local office will negatively impact both Daviess County residents and the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport, he said.
“We have one of the largest commercial airports in the state and it is important that we maintain our 10,000 or so enplanements a year,” Mattingly said. “It is important for our relationships with Cape Air as well as Allegiant Air that an office be here.”
