Originally Posted by
irishguy28
You're right; with open-border areas things are far murkier and more open to varying implementations. Ryanair explicitly states on their website that THEIR policy involves not accepting driving licences for UK <-> IE flights. That makes it perfectly legit.
Quoting:
Driving licenses are not acceptable for travel with Ryanair between the UK and Ireland
Equally, for domestic flights, they have a published list of valid ID within most countries (though not Sweden). And for intra-Schengen flights, they along with WIZZ insist on a passport or national ID card, whereas others require no ID (or will accept any official photo ID at bag drop)
Originally Posted by
irishguy28
As such, Ryanair has a long-standing history of imposing a much higher identification requirement than the underlying immigration law would require.
Yes, again UK <-> IE and domestic/intra-Schengen flights are one thing. But non-CTA -> UK, where there's fixed UK border control with cut-and-dry requirements, a DG MOVE rep confirmed to me it'd be a violation of EC261/UK261 and that compensation would be due if ever denied boarding over this.
Besides, the Ryanair T&C doessay those holding "a form of residence status in the UK" can enter the UK on an ID card:
From 1st October 2021, nationals of the EEA/EU or Switzerland travelling to the United Kingdom must be in possession of a valid passport, as National ID cards issued by the EEA/EU and Switzerland are no longer acceptable to enter the UK (unless you hold a form of residence status in the UK).
and says nothing else indicating having a different policy of their own (unlike regarding driving licences for UK <-> IE flights). Now, the wording "a form of residence status" is misleading in two ways: 1) the only residence status making you eligible is EUSS status, not any other residence status; 2) there are more exemptions than that,
but EUSS status is what I myself rely on,
thus making me compliant with that Ryanair sentence. The problem is that there's no convenient means for a carrier to verify it - hence why the Home Office doesn't expect them to - so now, to avoid having to phone Border Force last-minute at the gate for assistance with boarding, I email the handling agent a verification link and "share code" the day before departure.
I did that just now (I'm flying tomorrow) and just got confirmation I'm cleared for tomorrow.
Originally Posted by
irishguy28
Remember also that the Home Office hasn't guaranteed that this particular exemption from the passport requirement will be extended beyond 2025, so Ryanair are probably correct in assuming that the requirement for a passport in law will soon match their current implementation.
That's incorrect. Past 2025 they'll accept ICAO-compliant IDs, as stated in the same Home Office carrier communication that makes it clear they should continue to universally accept (valid) EEA/Swiss IDs for boarding until a tool is launched (by IATA) that allows them to verify eligbility to enter the UK on one.
Quoting:
They can use them after [31 December 2025], if the cards meet the security standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.