Hullo!
I have a friend due to fly with Ryanair from Prestwick to Stansted in 6 days.
His girlfriend does not have a passport.
Previously they have flown without issue as she has a driving license which was accepted as valid ID up until the change in Ryanairs T&Cs (In August?).
They have called the Ryanair hotline and have been told 3 times that they will still be able to fly on a driving license as they booked before the T&Cs were changed. Of course, the confirmation e-mail only has a link to the T&Cs, which naturally have been changed.
When they pressed for a manager to confirm, they were put on hold and cut off, all 3 times.
So the question is, will they be able to fly?
My best bet is, knowning Ryanair, no.
By: zoot horn rollo - 14th October 2009 at 18:23
That is because of an agreement between the UK and Irish governments that allowed travel without the use of a passport (I believe this agreement has now been removed). The boarding card was presented only to establish where you had arrived from.
Well, it certainly didn’t work that way on the flight out to Cork where there was most definately a need to show a passport to get into the country and have a valid visa where appropriate as my wife found out out to her cost
By: OneLeft - 14th October 2009 at 18:20
That is because of an agreement between the UK and Irish governments that allowed travel without the use of a passport (I believe this agreement has now been removed). The boarding card was presented only to establish where you had arrived from.
A similar system is in place for arrivals in the UK from the Channel Islands. Because they are outside the UK, arrivals from the Channel Islands technically have to clear immigration, but an agreement is in place that no passport is required as long as a boarding card is presented to prove where you have come from.
Going back to the original thread, what happened with your friends Bmused55?
1L.
By: zoot horn rollo - 14th October 2009 at 12:13
Amusingly I flew from Cork to Stansted once and when we got to Stansted we were allowed back into the country on showing our boarding pass.
By: Hand87_5 - 10th October 2009 at 10:17
This is surprising really! A passport really shouldn’t be neccesary unless you’re leaving/entering the country. In this case they just need to confirm who you are, and a driving license would be accepted as official ID anywhere else, so why not here?
The driving license is NOT considered as a valid ID here neither.
Only passports and ID card are.
By: Bmused55 - 9th October 2009 at 18:18
These are all the points we have been going over for days now. Thanks all for letting me know I’m not just being paranoid.
I suspect that a Passport is needed. I’ve watched enough episodes of “Airline” and spoken to enough folks in the business to make an educated guess.
I have recommended arranging for some form of temporary/ emergency passport to be sure.
From past accounts on fora nationwide, I do not see Ryanair getting anywhere near the level of service to qualify as “Acomodating” enough to allow my friends girlfriend to travel on a photographic driving license.
By: Arabella-Cox - 9th October 2009 at 18:06
This is surprising really! A passport really shouldn’t be neccesary unless you’re leaving/entering the country. In this case they just need to confirm who you are, and a driving license would be accepted as official ID anywhere else, so why not here?
By: OneLeft - 9th October 2009 at 17:54
I would say they wouldn’t accept a driving licence on the day. The requirements for photo-id are surely those in force at the time of travel not the time of booking (id has nothing to do with making the booking).
The only way round this would be to get the information from the hotline in writing, and that’s never going to happen.
Looking at the website I’m amazed how few forms of id they do accept!
Wish them luck,
1L.
By: Bmused55 - 9th October 2009 at 16:52
LOL, doesn’t surprise me at all!
By: cloud_9 - 9th October 2009 at 16:38
Guess she’ll find out when she turns up at the airport…?
Does it surprise you that they were cut-off on all 3 occasions when requesting a manager; they probably charge extra for the privilege?!:D:dev2:
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October 9, 2009 at 1:20 pm