British Airways to require photo ID for domestic flights from 1st September

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• Doc says:

  26 Aug26 August 08:43

  This has already started since we flew MAN-LHR on Tuesday and the check in agent told us this and also this was strictly enforced at the gate.
  Fortunately we were connecting to Europe and so had my passport.

  • Rob says:

    26 Aug26 August 08:44

    MAN started early, yes.

• Richie says:

  26 Aug26 August 08:53

  I carry a wallet with local business loyalty cards in it. My favourite is the bakery card, buy 9 loaves get the 10th free. Some late night venues in London require photo ID.

• Andrew. says:

  26 Aug26 August 09:08

  With the outrage on here, I suspect I’m not the only person who has regularly flown on someone else’s ticket. It was quite common practice amongst Scots to swap rail and bus tickets about when I was working in the City, always availability on the message boards. Particularly after the death of BMI, as we had fixed price fully cancellable tickets with them as a staff perk.

  JDB will be pleased to know that the ticket I was booked on for Monday has been cancelled, and I’m now travelling under my own name as there does seem to be early implementation.

  Now off to finish the journey at a steady 60-65mph taking my mate’s (thirsty) Aston up from the home counties to Perthshire ahead of their holiday.

  • RussellH says:

    26 Aug26 August 11:41

    Many, many years ago my father had a return from ORD to LHR routed ORD-BDL-BOS-PIK/GLA-LON.
    He had flown the first three legs, but it made no sense for him to go back to GLA from Galloway, so he took the train to London.
    He gave me the final coupon, which did say MR G instead of MR R, no problems at all when I used it from GLA-LGW on BCal.

• Nick says:

  26 Aug26 August 09:34

  Surprised it’s taken 5 pages and no one has referenced the Gen Z trick of keeping a driving licence in the gap between phone and plastic phone case!

  • Rob says:

    26 Aug26 August 09:35

    My daughter keeps her TfL card there!

  • Gordon says:

    26 Aug26 August 09:42

    I believe the younger generation with an iPhone use a “MagSafe” now.

• Tracey says:

  26 Aug26 August 09:36

  I’m sure I read somewhere, maybe FT, of someone taking advantage of their father having the same name and (ab) using their associated status.

  • Richie says:

    26 Aug26 August 09:39

    I’m sure same gender identical twins with the same first name initial have done lots of swapping.

    • Rob says:

      26 Aug26 August 09:41

      There is a huge element of loyalty fraud in certain countries because of this, especially the Middle East where there are only a handful of surnames.

      • RussellH says:

        26 Aug26 August 11:54

        While our family surname has always been unique in the UK, apart from autumn 1967 until summer of 1970 (or 1969) when an American was doing a masters at the same Oxford college that I attended. He had always thought that the name was unique to his family…
        Today, a web search shows up a dozen or more in the USA, and there are probably around 100+ in Switzerland, where the name comes from.

  • Alex G says:

    26 Aug26 August 12:01

    My nephew and I have the same name. He used to get my Priority Pass card.

  • redlilly says:

    26 Aug26 August 16:50

    Works the other way too… my dad and brother have the same names, and BA have on two separate instances cancelled one of the tickets thinking it is a duplicate booking!!

• TimM says:

  26 Aug26 August 10:36

  In this day and age I see why we still have physical passports, ID cards or driving licences other than a form of taxation in obtaining them and to keep people unnecessarily employed checking them. We have the technology.

• John says:

  26 Aug26 August 10:40

  Does anyone know why when travelling from London to Dublin we have to pass through immigration and customs but not when travelling the other way ? Is it the case of the UK government being spineless to reciprocate.

  • lumma says:

    26 Aug26 August 10:53

    You have to go through customs when arriving in the UK from Ireland. At Stansted for example, you arrive at the baggage claim area after passport control, whereas the domestic flights arrive on the other side of the airport.

    When I lived in Ireland 15 years ago, I could just flash my driver’s licence at Dublin airport immigration to get through. All my recent trips have been with Ryanair, so I had my passport anyway

    • John says:

      26 Aug26 August 11:09

      At Heathrow the bags arrive on the domestic belts. Even still why do Ireland check identity but UK don’t. How are two parties to the same agreement apply the rules so differently.

      • Nick says:

        26 Aug26 August 11:33

        Also that’s not actually correct. At Heathrow you don’t go through immigration but you do go through customs – bags arrive on international belts. That’s why you enter the terminal through Gate 22/23 (or the door underneath) rather than A1-6.

  • Brian P says:

    26 Aug26 August 11:09

    I believe it’s the design of Dublin airport and their ability to handle volumes from London rather than the Irish deliberately breaching the common travel area – you can use your driving licence at immigration…

    • John says:

      26 Aug26 August 12:00

      I ll check the next time I travel but thanks. I always remember walking that long corridor in T5 missing immigration. May be were being sent into the international belts just didn’t note.

    • ADS says:

      26 Aug26 August 13:20

      yes indeed. at Heathrow T5 they can just have a few gates for CTA arrivals and separate them easily enough. but half the arrivals into Dublin are from the CTA so much harder to divide up the airport.

    • redlilly says:

      26 Aug26 August 16:53

      When I was in Ireland last weekend, I had heard from a friend in the know that Ireland was going to introduce an e visa for everyone regardless of where they’re from. So including the UK and EU. A bit like the ETA visa the UK is introducing. Perhaps this new rule is associated with that

      • John says:

        26 Aug26 August 19:26

        They can’t introduce one for EU citizens unless it also applies to Irish citizens

    • Roy says:

      26 Aug26 August 22:58

      Wikipedia quotes an Irish high court judge as follows:

      “The practical result of this is that all persons arriving by air from the United Kingdom face Irish immigration controls. While in theory both Irish and British citizens are entitled to arrive here free from immigration control by virtue of the common travel area, increasingly in practice such passengers who arrive by air from the United Kingdom are required to produce their passports (or, at least, some other form of acceptable identity document) in order to prove to immigration officers that they are either Irish or British citizens who can avail of the common travel area.”

  • Michael says:

    26 Aug26 August 21:01

    The CTA arrangements of free movement apply only to citizens of the CTA jurisdictions. Some passengers from DUB-LHR flights might need to see immigration in the U.K., and the UK’s decision not to impose immigration checks on flights from Ireland can hinder such passengers.

    In Ireland all U.K. arrivals pass through immigration but citizens of the U.K. and Ireland can show other ID than a passport. That said, showing a passport from the U.K. or Ireland is the easiest way to prove you don’t have to show your passport!

    And at DUB due to the very small number of domestic flights, they have to pass immigration too, but I suspect a boarding pass and ID would suffice.

• T says:

  26 Aug26 August 10:50

  Moral of the story,
  Have your ID with you when you leave the house.
  It is actually that simple. In case of any emergency, people know who they are dealing with.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    26 Aug26 August 15:26

    Ridiculous

    The only ID I have is my passport and I ain’t taking that to the shops or the pub with me. I dowhen I’m abroad but to sainburys then no.

    Now if the UK issued a passport card then I’d more than likely keep that in my wallet. But for some unknown reason we don’t. I’d happily pay and extra tenner for one.

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