Ryanair's ID requirements

[Bletchleyite]

Ryanair require passports even for internal UK (or Common Travel Area) flights so they'll all have had passports thankfully.

Not if you're under 16 travelling with an over 18. And it's "Any photo ID which matches the passenger’s name in the booking".

Okie dokie, I just took them at their word from their website:

https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb/sections/12488903024145-Travel-Documents

Same here.
Ryanair UK Ts&Cs

DOMESTIC FLIGHT - TRAVEL DOCUMENTS ACCEPTED:

2.2 Domestic flights - photo ID accepted​

UK

Aged 16 or over Any photo ID which matches the passenger’s name in the booking

Aged under 16 and travelling with an adult aged 18 or over No photo ID is needed

If you search Twitter, there's plenty Driving Licences are fine for UK Domestics until around 2018.

Ryanair, when they introduced online checkin being effectively mandatory, introduced a policy where a passport (and possibly an EU ID card, I now can't remember) was the only acceptable ID for an adult flying on any flight, whether domestic or international. This policy was the case for many years, though their website now appears to be contradictory.

To my knowledge Ryanair is the only airline flying UK domestic routes that has ever had such a policy (the law isn't really relevant because any business can impose requirements in excess of it if they so choose, they just can't have a policy that is less restrictive). I'm unclear if it still stands as the quotes from the website above seem to contradict each other, which is fairly typical of them.

 

[rcsn319]

i’m pretty sure CTA still requires a passport with them however, I have done a UK domestic with ryanair and used a driving license with no problem.

 

[Bletchleyite]

i’m pretty sure CTA still requires a passport with them however, I have done a UK domestic with ryanair and used a driving license with no problem.

The CTA is odd. Passportless travel is only available to British and Irish citizens, the best way to prove which is, er, a passport.

 

[WestCoast]

I flew them from Newquay to Edinburgh back in 2023 and they accepted any photo ID. It’s now their policy for UK domestic (but not flights to/from ROI).

 

[Cloud Strife]

The CTA is odd. Passportless travel is only available to British and Irish citizens, the best way to prove which is, er, a passport.

Just wait until the ETA is introduced for EU citizens. It'll then be perfectly legal to go to Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland as long as you're legally resident in the Republic as an EEA/CH citizen with just your ID card, but it won't be legal to go from NI to GB with the same unless you have your passport and the ETA. Who knows how it's going to work with NI-GB flights after that, because the airlines won't be checking if someone is legally allowed to fly NI-GB, nor will they be checking the ETA status.

The CTA has always been rather odd, no doubt due to the way that it came into being. It wasn't even formally codified until Brexit!

 

[cactustwirly]

Ryanair, when they introduced online checkin being effectively mandatory, introduced a policy where a passport (and possibly an EU ID card, I now can't remember) was the only acceptable ID for an adult flying on any flight, whether domestic or international. This policy was the case for many years, though their website now appears to be contradictory.

To my knowledge Ryanair is the only airline flying UK domestic routes that has ever had such a policy (the law isn't really relevant because any business can impose requirements in excess of it if they so choose, they just can't have a policy that is less restrictive). I'm unclear if it still stands as the quotes from the website above seem to contradict each other, which is fairly typical of them.

Then you have airlines like BA who don't check for ID. Just rely on the biometric system at Heathrow

 

[Starmill]

I flew them from Newquay to Edinburgh back in 2023 and they accepted any photo ID. It’s now their policy for UK domestic (but not flights to/from ROI).

To be honest it's common for gate agents acting for Ryanair to scan the boarding pass and not even look at the ID at all, nor the luggage size.

Of course, others will enforce the policy as written. So you have to comply with it.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I fly Ryanair occasionally (3 times per year) and would personally never risk flying without a passport.

 

[Cloud Strife]

I fly Ryanair occasionally (3 times per year) and would personally never risk flying without a passport.

Ryanair aren't so strict now, they're happy to take any form of photo ID on domestic UK flights as long as it's legitimate. In practice, a driving licence is perfectly fine, and they often aren't even checking.

 

[Watershed]

Then you have airlines like BA who don't check for ID. Just rely on the biometric system at Heathrow

BA introduced an ID requirement for domestic flights in September 2023. Doesn't have to be a passport, of course.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

BA introduced an ID requirement for domestic flights in September 2023. Doesn't have to be a passport, of course.

I would be very interested to see if I took a BA domestic flight and used my American (GA) drivers license if that would be accepted?

 

[Watershed]

I would be very interested to see if I took a BA domestic flight and used my American (GA) drivers license if that would be accepted?

I've heard reports of US driving licences being refused, even though they meet the criteria that BA set out.

As usual, BA have made a dog's breakfast of their policy here.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I would be very interested to see if I took a BA domestic flight and used my American (GA) drivers license if that would be accepted?

I wouldn't risk it. BA's ground staff (especially at Gatwick) have enough trouble recognising common types of ID and common passport validity rules to the EU. Anything slightly out of the ordinary would likely blow their minds.

BA have made a dog's breakfast of their policy here.

I don't think the policy is the issue, more the training/competence of the people implementing it on the ground.

 

[route101]

Edinburgh to Belfast and Newquay I used my Driving Licence.

 

[FinsburyPark]

Just wait until the ETA is introduced for EU citizens. It'll then be perfectly legal to go to Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland as long as you're legally resident in the Republic as an EEA/CH citizen with just your ID card, but it won't be legal to go from NI to GB with the same unless you have your passport and the ETA. Who knows how it's going to work with NI-GB flights after that, because the airlines won't be checking if someone is legally allowed to fly NI-GB, nor will they be checking the ETA status.

The CTA has always been rather odd, no doubt due to the way that it came into being. It wasn't even formally codified until Brexit!

If someone is non EEA/CH and they land in ROI and wish to go to NI, they need an ETA.


So Americans and Canadians (to name just a few) who wish to fly in to Dublin, stay in Ireland for the majority of the trip, then day trip it to NI to see giants causeway would need to get an ETA the same as if they were visiting GB. Even if only for a day trip.

 

[Cloud Strife]

If someone is non EEA/CH and they land in ROI and wish to go to NI, they need an ETA.

Only if they're tourists. If they're resident in Ireland, they don't need the ETA to visit the UK. The UK thankfully has used common sense here.