Hi-

My brother arrived in Maui yesterday via Las Vegas and San Francisco. Upon awakeing this morning-he found out he lost his drivers license. He had it with him yesterday to fly and just went to the hotel last night when he arrived. He has torn apart his hotel room this morning, checked with the front desk and looked everywhere.

What should he be doing so on Sunday he can fly back to NY? Should he contact the airline?

Any help/direction you can provide would be great!! Not that he does not want to be stuck in Hawaii but he would like to eventually come home.

I'm assuming this is his only form of ID? That he doesn't have a passport?

He might try contacting his airlines, because he would have had to have it to be allowed on the plane. Maybe it was left at the airport?

http://tinyurl.com/yv4cgy

According to United's website, they'll accept TWO other forms of ID in place of a government-issued photo i.d. He should call the airline he's flying on and ask.

Thanks for the quick replies!
He is flying United back via LA to JFK.

I'm guessing most people don't travel with 2 other forms of government ID besides their license (we'd be talking original birth certificate, voters registration card, etc.).

You only need one other form of government i.d. (maybe you can FedEx him his Social Security Card) and a credit card.

You can fly without an ID. The airline will direct you to the airport police and if they think you are not a threat they will let you pass security without an ID.

Really? You can fly with a non-photo ID like a SS card only? Or with no ID at all??

I don't know about the no-ID thing, but non-picture government ID and one other ID such as a credit card, yes.

yes, you have to jump through a bunch of extra hoops, checks, supervisors but it can be done.

Do not panic - our son lost his wallet in Wyoming and needed it to fly back, on United, to Boston. Here is what happened to us.

First, we called United. Got a guy in India who thought Wyoming was not part of US so he would need a passport. They had not useful advice - do not call United.

We then called local police (United had told us to file a police report). They laughed and said that people lose their ID all the time while skiing in Wyoming. They also told us a police report was useless "you can tell us anything you want when you file a police report. That does not make it true"

They had good info, however. There is no US law requiring ID to fly - but it is so universally required by airlines that everyone carries it.

Collect whatever ID-related stuff you can. Outbound boarding pass, anything else in his wallet with his name on it, business cards - that type of stuff. Go to airport earlier than usual. When he tries to check in at United and does not have ID they will require local law enforcement to clear him to travel. They may pass him thru with the stuff he has, call NY Registry of Motor Vehicles and do description match with what they have on file on his photo. Once local law enforcement takes the responsibility off the airline, he is all set.

We had a neighbor break into our house and e-fax us a copy of the first page of our son's passport - law enforcement guy said that was also useless - too easily forged.

If he wants to get some reassurance before going to the airport - verification that this is the process - he might call police department responsible for airport ahead of time (might be State Police, local - depends on jurisdiction).

All this happened 2 years ago - well past 9/11.

Are you sure this is not just a plot to remain in Maui and not return to NY.

No need to jump through all the hoops...

There is no law that bars anybody without an ID from flying.

Just show up little earlier and be prepared for TSA secondary...

Have a great trip!

My thoughts, exactly, gail

How many times have the airlines heard

The honu ate my ID?

I also had this experience - except my purse was stolen in NYC. I went to the police and they gave me a police report indicating that I had reported it. That report, along with my Costco photo ID was enough to get on the plane with no worries. The police said that they have lots of people who lose or have their wallets stolen - the same remedy applies.

"First, we called United. Got a guy in India who thought Wyoming was not part of US so he would need a passport. They had not useful advice - do not call United."

Best laugh I've had all day. Thank you.

nohomers - it is funny now, but when we were in a panic trying to explain to some guy in India US geography was not amusing. He kept saying "But you needed a passport to get there - just use it to get home". I kept saying "We flew from Boston, USA to Wyoming USA - no passport required". To which he kept saying "You need a passport to return to the USA"

These are great responses!! Thanks for your help!!! We fed-ex the passport to him this morning. If he loses the passport, then I will know he wanted to stay in Maui!!!