Schengen Flight Passport Check
 

Today flying PRG-FRA the gate agents were checking passports while boarding. I've never encountered this on a Schengen flight in the past. Are these checks random?

I've no experience of flying from PRG, but I'm sure from experience showing ID at boarding for an intra-schengen flight is a relatively common occurrence. Either airline policy (revenue protection) or local country policy.

Yes, happens now and then, e.g. CDG-CPH last week they did check passports as well. Certainly isn’t the norm.

It's airline and country-correlated. Always guaranteed to get passport checks:

(1) Flying discount carriers
(2) Departing IT and SP
(3) With Alitalia and Iberia

Flying the rest of schengen, and with star alliance, its quite uncommon. IME.

Unfortunatelly, this was always applied to LH flights departing PRG, same for OS, but not always for SN
As other replies states here, it is up to combination of Airline + Airport policy. PRG airport does not require passport/national ID check on all intra-Schengen flights - non-Schengen are required (obviously). It looks like that LH is the one who force the passport/id checks. (at least on their "premium airlines" LH + OS). Not sure of LX.

I think France and Belgium require ID verification at boarding. This has been my consistent experience at CDG and BRU.

While flying out of France, using LH or SN, this became "always" rule for past year. Observed in TLS and CDG, flown multiple times past 14months.

France has checks for all flights to/from Germany since 2016 for some reason remotely related to the refugee crisis and the Paris attacks. Sweden always required ID check to/from Germany. I remember such checks since 2004. Often its suspended and the reinstated. Once in 2005 we even had security on arrival in ARN because for some reason Sweden thought the new T2 in MUC didn't comply with their security standards. :rolleyes:

My experience is that agents PRG asks for ID everytime for any intra-schengen flight. OK, LH, AF flights to name few in past weeks.

France has been hit or miss for me over last few years, for CDG, PUF, MPT, flying on AF/LH/OS

It differs.

You get checks in allot of countrys arriving from greece because of refugees. Tbh it doesnt really matter. Just see it as a ticket check.

Flew VIE-FRA-DFW yesterday (we were probably at FRA at the same time!). There were no ID checks at VIE. Of course, there was passport control at FRA and my wife was selected for a secondary screening while passing passport control, but that's another story.

For the record: No ID check on the VIE-FRA leg yesterday (Dec 1st).

Can't remember the last time I haven't had to show my ID to gate agent's when departing Spain, France (and BSL, which is effectively under French control), Poland or Italy.

BSL is extra special in that they were applying full border checks, operated by actual border agents, to a lot of Schengen departures (in fact, the area after the documentation checks was serving both Schengen and non-Schengen flights - which is why they were also asking for boarding passes since they need to know whether or not to apply a passport stamp to non-EU/EFTA persons).

And of course the random arrival checks, happening in e.g. Oslo to all arriving flights from Switzerland as far as I can see.

BSL in June: LH gate agent required everyones ID for boarding to MUC.

intra schengen ID checks at gate
 

Got id checked at gate on every flight from ATH , BRU and WAW going into VIE and FRA for several years now ;
has to do with EU mass immigration issues since 2015 which prompted several Schengen members to declare temporary cancellation of the id -free travel rules ,

these ' exceptions' get officially extended every 6 months with the EU authorities as long as immigration problem will last !!
especially at ATH gate controls were very strict with extra German officials ( GS in civvies ) present with tablets in hand .