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ID rules ‘difficult’ for elderly Irish
by Amanda Diamond
IRISH people living in Britain and traveling to Ireland should be aware of the various identification requirements imposed by different airlines.
According to Northampton Irish Support Group (NISG) Irish people — especially the elderly — need to be aware that some airlines flying from Britain to Ireland require specific photo identification.
According to NISG, the airline with the most rigid ID requirement policy is Ryanair — causing many problems and complaints from several of their elderly Irish clients.
Community Development Worker at NISG Hazel Giuliano said: “We have had problems with clients and their ID requirements in the past when
traveling with Ryanair.
“For some Irish elderly — many of whom have never held a passport or whom are too old to hold a driving
license — traveling to their native land is becoming very difficult”.
NISG has issued their warning after helping an elderly couple book a flight to Ireland on the Ryanair website. It had helped the couple apply for passports but there was a problem with the application, which caused the passports to be delayed.
Ms Giuliano said: “As with any other airline traveling to Ireland there is a possibility of alternative identification but with Ryanair this was not the case.
“It appears this is just a Ryanair policy, not a government policy and they will not budge under any circumstances. It just begs the question — why?”
The elderly couple had to cancel their Ryanair flights which resulted in them traveling
to Ireland with Aer Lingus who allowed them to travel with photo bus passes as ID.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “The only forms of identification we accept from passengers
traveling from Britain to Ireland are either a valid passport or a photo drivers
license.
“This is an airline policy and the passenger will not be able to travel if they are not in receipt of one of these forms of ID.”
But it appears that Ryanair is alone in demanding passports or full driving licenses to travel from Britain to Ireland.
A comparison between the four main airlines and two main ferry companies traveling
between Britain and Ireland shows varying degrees of identification requirements.
Aer Lingus only requires photographic identification for tickets bought on the internet while bmi requires photo ID for all travel to the Irish Republic.
And when traveling by sea, Irish Ferries and Stena Line do not require any identification.
ID Requirements on main airlines and ferry routes
Aer Lingus — No identification requirements apply if travelling on a ticket other than an e-ticket.
Photo ID in the form of bus pass, passport, student ID, work ID or driving license
if traveling on an e-ticket.
Aer Arran — Photo ID in the form of bus pass, passport, student ID, work ID or driving
license for all international flights and domestic flights within Britain.
bmi — No ID for travel to Northern Ireland. But photo ID is required when traveling
to the Republic.
Ryanair — A valid passport or full driving license, both photo and paper section
is required when traveling between Britain and Ireland.
Irish Ferries — No form of ID is required traveling from Britain to Ireland
Stena Line — No form of ID is required traveling from Britain to Ireland.
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