Maybe, maybe not. Not everybody pays attention to the news... and it's not that hard to make yourself look different enough to evade the average Joe... like the guy/gal at the airport, earning minimum wage working as a ticket counter clerk, or TSA agent (or other national equivalent). Even the border police types can't examine everybody under a microscope. If you're a guy, grow a beard (or shave yours), dye your hair a different color, put on glasses (or take off yours), and you probably stand a decent chance of escaping notice.

Of course, this all requires some foresight, as you'd have to have ID documents done with the "disguised" appearance... but that's half my point - now is the time to start working on getting alternate identities, if you think there's even a slight chance you might need it.

This is true, a lot relies on people noticing and people tend to not pay attention. The last time I was at the airport, the couple in front of me split to two different security lines. They had mixed up their ID's and funny enough one agent noticed while the other let the lady through.