No ID for flight

[Laura Corin]

Yesterday I flew from Edinburgh to London with no ID. I bought my ticket and printed my boarding pass on line, so all they had was my supposed name and address.

 

The UK doesn't have ID cards, but some airlines require passports, even for domestic flights. Not British Airways, apparently.

[TeacherZee]

I flew from Sweden to Spain in 2014 and the first time someone checked my identity was when I checked into the hotel. :)

[lailasmum]

How strange. I do remember having to use my passport when I flew from Plymouth to Bristol once. That was years ago and Plymouth airport is closed now. I think that was flybe. They run the Exeter to London flights now and I know they say they require id for those but whether they actually get checked I don't know. 

[Laura Corin]

I'm flying back from Bristol on Easy jet, and they require a passport. Odd.

 

The BA website says nothing about ID.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't recall being asked for an ID for a domestic flight.  They may have asked for DH's ID because he purchased the tickets. 

[Carrie12345]

Man, I got all excited when I didn't have to take my shoes off for my last flight.  Going without ID would feel as naughty as streaking naked through the airport to me, lol.

[J-rap]

All domestic U.S. flights require an ID now -- either a passport or a driver's license (or the equivalent personal ID card, if you don't have a driver's license).  Most people show their driver's license.  Children don't need an ID under a certain age.

 

So you wouldn't even need to show a driver's license flying between some European countries?  Wow!

 

 

[Lanny]

That would not be permitted here in Colombia. Possibly you can send a message to the Civil Aviation authorities on their web site (the equivalent of the F.A.A. in the USA) and suggest they rethink this, for safety reasons. When we fly on domestic flights we must show our national identity cards to the agent at the gate, when we give them our Boarding Passes.   

[Laura Corin]

All domestic U.S. flights require an ID now -- either a passport or a driver's license (or the equivalent personal ID card, if you don't have a driver's license). Most people show their driver's license. Children don't need an ID under a certain age.

 

So you wouldn't even need to show a driver's license flying between some European countries? Wow!

Driving licences are not used as ID for general purposes in the UK. In my case I was on a domestic flight.

 

Some countries in Europe have open borders between them.

[Laura Corin]

That would not be permitted here in Colombia. Possibly you can send a message to the Civil Aviation authorities on their web site (the equivalent of the F.A.A. in the USA) and suggest they rethink this, for safety reasons. When we fly on domestic flights we must show our national identity cards to the agent at the gate, when we give them our Boarding Passes.

One issue is that we have no ID cards.

[SparklyUnicorn]

One issue is that we have no ID cards.

 

We don't either.

 

Which is one of my beefs about requiring something like that.  One should not have to use their driver's license or social security number as identification.  Especially not the social security number.  That's the biggest reason we have so many freaking identify theft issues.  Everybody and their mother thinks they have the right to ask for it.  Even a club my kids joined where I notice their "security" of such info is an unlocked filing cabinet anyone off the street could stop and rummage through easily.

[SparklyUnicorn]

This is info I found regarding this:

 

ID Requirements

The TSA requires all passengers over age 16 to produce government-issued identification that matches the information given at the time of ticket purchase. A passport, driver's license or non-driver state identification card is preferred. If you do not have any of these items, you may still be allowed to fly domestically. Allow at least one additional hour at the airport for an enhanced security screening.

 

[Hikin' Mama]

Every time I fly I have to show my ID. And they give it a thorough looking over, looking at the ID, looking back at me. My husband, dd, dil, and I flew to San Antonio a little over a year ago. With EVERY flight we boarded, dh and dd got picked to go through a different line. They just breezed through without taking off their shoes or getting a body scan or anything. Dil and I had to go through the whole rigmarole, and because I had my little grandgirl in a front pack, I had to get my palms swabbed, every flight. Even grandgirl's "Daddy Bear" (little teddy bear in an Air Force uniform) that grandgirl was holding had to be scanned. I guess dil and I looked like we were up to something. :)

[LibraryLover]

U.S. No ID, no fly.

 

Oops I say that's been covered. Late to the party.

[SKL]

We traveled mostly by train in Europe, and nobody checked ID for that, except when we went from Paris to London. 

 

I don't remember any time we got on a plane in Europe without a passport.  Our intra-European flights were from Santorini Greece to Rome and from Edinburgh to Belfast.  The heaviest security I recall in Europe was in Dublin, when we were flying to the US.

[Laura Corin]

We don't either.

 

 

Not officially, but the fact that the DMV issues non-driver cards suggests that this is the de facto ID. When I worked in a shop in America, I verified cheques with driving licences. At that time in the UK, cheques were verified with a bank-issued guarantee card. I've never been asked for my UK driving licence in a non-driving context, and it's not acceptable ID for tonight's flight: domestic flight again but I need my passport.

[Corraleno]

 

This is info I found regarding this:

 

ID Requirements

The TSA requires all passengers over age 16 to produce government-issued identification that matches the information given at the time of ticket purchase. A passport, driver's license or non-driver state identification card is preferred. If you do not have any of these items, you may still be allowed to fly domestically. Allow at least one additional hour at the airport for an enhanced security screening.

 

 

I'm not sure where that quote came from, but on domestic flights TSA only requires ID for adults —18 and over. I have a 6'6" teen who is under 18 but looks older, and TSA has never asked for ID once they know his age.

 

This is from the official TSA website:

"Minor children (younger than 18) are not required to provide an ID at the airport security checkpoint. They will just need their boarding pass.  All passengers, including children, on international flights are required to have a passport in their possession."

[LaughingCat]

As the quote for TSA says, TSA does not require ID for adults either -- it just takes far longer to go through without ID.   My stepmother in the early stages of Alzheimers has gone through without ID multiple times because she somehow loses the ID between home and airport or even between check-in and TSA.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Not officially, but the fact that the DMV issues non-driver cards suggests that this is the de facto ID. When I worked in a shop in America, I verified cheques with driving licences. At that time in the UK, cheques were verified with a bank-issued guarantee card. I've never been asked for my UK driving licence in a non-driving context, and it's not acceptable ID for tonight's flight: domestic flight again but I need my passport.

 

Yeah, but it's not really an official ID.  As you say it has become the de facto ID.  It kinda leaves people in a spot if they don't drive.  Although they do also now issue non driver IDs. 

What business do people have to your driver's license number and stuff when you take a flight? 

 

Plus going to the DMV is like taking a trip to hell. 

[Jenny in Florida]

As the quote for TSA says, TSA does not require ID for adults either -- it just takes far longer to go through without ID.   My stepmother in the early stages of Alzheimers has gone through without ID multiple times because she somehow loses the ID between home and airport or even between check-in and TSA.

 

When my then-19-year-old daughter flew to NYC, she had managed to get herself into a situation in which she had no valid ID. The learner's permit she got on her 16th birthday had expired, and she had never bothered to get a driver's license. Her passport was expiring, and she had sent the old one along with all of her other documents off with the application to renew. I think by that time we had been notified that the application was being denied because she didn't have all of the ID she needed, but the documents had not yet been returned. And, without all of the ID and documentation that was in the envelope making its way back from the passport office, she couldn't even get a non-driver ID card. 

 

She spoke to folks at the main TSA info number and also to actual people at the airport, all of whom made it sound like it might be a big deal and they couldn't guarantee she'd make her flight, and none of whom would give her any actual information about what the process for dealing with this situation might look like or whether there were any steps she could take in advance to make it run more smoothly.

 

On the day of, she showed up about two hours before her scheduled flight with whatever bits of documentation we could pull together and got in line. My husband and I stood on the other side of the security gate biting our fingernails and hoping she would get through and make it in time to board.

 

The whole thing took about four minutes, and then she was on her way -- quite early -- to her gate.

 

So, yeah, obviously having appropriate, valid ID is a good thing, but it's not actually "required."

[LaughingCat]

When my then-19-year-old daughter flew to NYC, she had managed to get herself into a situation in which she had no valid ID. The learner's permit she got on her 16th birthday had expired, and she had never bothered to get a driver's license.

I have flown on an expired driver's license before with no problem at all  -- although it was the TSA person who pointed out to me that it had been expired for 4 months :blushing: 

[kitten18]

As the quote for TSA says, TSA does not require ID for adults either -- it just takes far longer to go through without ID. My stepmother in the early stages of Alzheimers has gone through without ID multiple times because she somehow loses the ID between home and airport or even between check-in and TSA.

Yeah, my mom lost her drivers license once on the way to visit us. She was here for 3 weeks and she didn't realize it until a couple days before she went home. I called the airport she was flying from and talked to the airline and TSA. They both told me it would be fine and it was truly not a big deal at all. A few questions and she was on her way. When she got home her drivers license was in the mail, someone had found it at the Denver airport and mailed it to her.

[Jenny in Florida]

I have flown on an expired driver's license before with no problem at all  -- although it was the TSA person who pointed out to me that it had been expired for 4 months :blushing:

 

I no longer remember the details, but I think that my daughter didn't even have the actual permit anymore?

 

Oh! That's right! Not only was the permit expired and her birth certificate and some other documentation somewhere en route between the passport office and home, but my daughter had also managed to lose her wallet not long before the flight. So, she didn't even have the expired card in her possession on the day of the flight.

 

Honestly, the whole mess sounds far-fetched even to me as I'm tying it. I'm still kind of shocked that she got on the flight without incident.

[justasque]

Not officially, but the fact that the DMV issues non-driver cards suggests that this is the de facto ID. When I worked in a shop in America, I verified cheques with driving licences. At that time in the UK, cheques were verified with a bank-issued guarantee card. I've never been asked for my UK driving licence in a non-driving context, and it's not acceptable ID for tonight's flight: domestic flight again but I need my passport.

 

I wonder if it's partly because since the UK is small, folks who travel are likely to have a passport (because you can't go far without being in another country), whereas in the US folks who travel state-to-state but not internationally usually don't?  I wonder what the passport-holding percent of the population is in each country?

 

ETA - Googled a bit - apparently the numbers have been growing since we now need passports for travel to Mexico and Canada, although actual international travel rates haven't changed much.  

 

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2012/01/30/record-number-of-americans-now-hold-passports/ - 

“More Americans have passports now than ever before,†says Ken Chavez, spokesperson for the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the US State Department. Over one-third of the population to be exact, or nearly 110 million out of 313 million Americans. That’s more than double the number of US passports in circulation in 2000 (48 million) and around 15 times 1989’s 7 million...(under 3 percent of Americans)..."

 

I'm a little shocked at that 3% number.

[idnib]

You don't need an ID to fly in the U.S. either, but they will subject you to increased body searches and check your luggage. Basically if they can thoroughly inspect everything you bring on the plane, there's no reason for them to need I.D. Sometimes people have their wallets stolen on vacation and still need to get home, and of course it's impossible to rent a car without a license.

[justasque]

More Googling - 

"The 2011 [uK] Census collected information for the first time on passports held. This can be an indicator of nationality. Eighty three per cent (46.6 million) of usual residents had at least one passport and 17 per cent (9.5 million) usual residents did not have a passport."

 

That's quite a difference from the US.

[justasque]

And one more article - this one with Americans who hold passports broken down by state.  New Jersey has the highest percentage, 62%, with West Virginia and Mississippi having the lowest (19% and 18%, respectively).

 

[Alessandra]

Thanks for this thread!

 

Ds is flying domestically with his Boy Scout troop, but I will not be along. Leaders asked for his birth certificate. Over my dead body... no, no, no.

 

I was thinking about passports or passport cards. But someone up thread mentioned non driver state IDs. In my state, you can get them beginning at age 14. And we have all the required documents. Whew! So thank you to whoever mentioned this.

[justasque]

Thanks for this thread!

 

Ds is flying domestically with his Boy Scout troop, but I will not be along. Leaders asked for his birth certificate. Over my dead body... no, no, no.

 

I was thinking about passports or passport cards. But someone up thread mentioned non driver state IDs. In my state, you can get them beginning at age 14. And we have all the required documents. Whew! So thank you to whoever mentioned this.

I've gotten them for my kids as soon as they were old enough.  Very handy for travel ID, and also for the SATs if they are not yet driving.  Hope your ds enjoys his scouting adventure!

[Laura Corin]

Update: for my return flight, the (different) airline said that we needed passports.  We all had them in our hands when we went through the gate (I had already checked in and printed my boarding pass online, so hadn't checked in at the airport) but they were not opened by the staff.  So no ID check again.

 

The specific rules about how hand luggage was scanned at the two airports were different too, but that could be due to equipment differences: Bristol is a much smaller airport than Edinburgh, so might need a more complete form of separation of items.