British Airways Automatic Gates ( No passport/ID requested to Dublin)

Wrex

I recently flew to Heathrow and back in a day from Dublin with BA

What I found curious is that, flying back from Heathrow to Dublin, at no point was i required to show any form of ID, until i reached the passport booth at Dublin Airport. This is a first for me.

BA are using these biometric e gates, but like i said at no point did i have to scan or show any form of ID in London.

I know it is all within the CTA , but even so, i thought showing a form of ID was required, especially as not all of the passengers will be Irish or British.

Any thoughts?

L1011

UK doesn't require ID for CTA flights; Ireland does. We have had eleventy gazillion threads on this. Some airlines require ID (Ryanair) on ex-UK CTA flights, others don't.

Wrex

L1011 wrote: »

UK doesn't require ID for CTA flights; Ireland does. We have had eleventy gazillion threads on this. Some airlines require ID (Ryanair) on ex-UK CTA flights, others don't.

i understand going into the uk doesn't require id, however since going into Dublin id is required, isn't BA leaving themselves exposed to potential fines if someone rolls up to the booth at dublin airport with no acceptable id?
Ive flown back and forth for nearly a decade, and very first time ive flown wothout having to show id before boarding the plane.

trellheim

UK doesn't require ID for CTA flights; Ireland does

Incorrect. Ireland does not require ID for CTA trips
There is no requirement in law for Ireland to check all CTA flights - it is entirely optional that they perform ID checks.

LXFlyer

Well non-EU citizens do require separate visas for Ireland to the UK, with only a couple of exceptions.

Checking them without checking everyone else is tricky as we have gone through repeatedly.

The current Irish government policy is to check everyone entering via our airports and that has been applied by all governments for some time now.

Therefore it is odd that BA don’t have a document check of some sort for those who do require visas.

I was surprised at that last weekend myself.

LXFlyer

L1011 wrote: »

UK doesn't require ID for CTA flights; Ireland does. We have had eleventy gazillion threads on this. Some airlines require ID (Ryanair) on ex-UK CTA flights, others don't.

But the UK authorities do have occasional spot checks and I’ve seen people marched off who have not had the appropriate documentation.

trellheim

Well non-EU citizens do require separate visas for Ireland to the UK, with only a couple of exceptions.

Checking them without checking everyone else is tricky as we have gone through repeatedly.

The current Irish government policy is to check everyone entering via our airports and that has been applied by all governments for some time now.

Therefore it is odd that BA don’t have a document check of some sort for those who do require visas.

I was surprised at that last weekend myself.

As you say - we have been around it a few times.

Look at it this way - irish ferries are not required to check Paddy Murphy the passenger in the ford fiesta driving on , so why should BA be any different for their CTA voyage ? They are, of course, ( a la Ryanair with passports ) entitled to demand any type of ID they like as a condition of carriage but if they dont I am not sure what rule is being broken.

LXFlyer

trellheim wrote: »

As you say - we have been around it a few times.

Look at it this way - irish ferries are not required to check Paddy Murphy the passenger in the ford fiesta driving on , so why should BA be any different for their CTA voyage ? They are, of course, ( a la Ryanair with passports ) entitled to demand any type of ID they like as a condition of carriage but if they dont I am not sure what rule is being broken.

We have and I was very careful in my phraseology - it’s government policy to check all arriving airline passengers and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon (whether you like it or not and we all know your position on this, and I really don’t want to open that cannot worms).

My point re BA (and that of the OP) is not the legality or rights/wrongs of immigration checks on CTA flights per se, but is that surely if BA allow passengers board at LHR without checking documentation and who are not entitled to legally enter Ireland, who then get turned back at Irish immigration, then the airline is going to be fined or billed for repatriation?

As has been pointed out just because someone is legally in the UK does not mean they can legally enter Ireland.

It just seems rather odd not to do a check.