Some people with mental illness, may soon not be allowed to fly

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US tells airlines to disregard ‘X’ sex markers on passports and input ‘M’ or ‘F’
Customs and Border Protection implemented rule this week, sending Americans with ‘X’ marker into panic
Hannah Harris Green
Sat 18 Oct 2025 09.00 EDT
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US Customs and Border Protection implemented a rule this week that will require airlines to disregard “X” sex markers on passports and input an “M” or “F” marker instead, sending those people with an “X” marker into panic.

“X” markers became available to US passport holders in 2022, in an effort to allow people with gender identities other than male and female to obtain more accurate travel documents.


Now, the new CBP rule has many people on social media and beyond worried that they will no longer be allowed to fly internationally.

“It’s a little bit too soon to say how this is going to practically work out,” said Andy Izenson, senior legal director at the Chosen Family Law Center.

Passports with “X” markers should still be considered valid travel documents; the US district court of Massachusetts issued an order in June ensuring that they would remain valid after the Trump administration attempted to ban them under executive order 14168, titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.

While the courts have continued to prevent the Trump administration from outright banning a third gender marker, this week’s rule can still serve to make the lives of trans and non-binary people more difficult, Izenson says.

“I would suggest the intent is to ensure that any individual person who’s acting under color of law or as an agent of the state has as much leeway to act out their personal bigotry as they want, without any concern about consequences,” Izenson said.

After spending time on the phone with CBP, the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, Izenson was unable to get clear answers about how the rule would function, and who would be responsible for enforcing it.

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