Discrimination on Boarding / Additional Travel ID

mgdavid

photome wrote: »

what common sense are you talking about.
many people only have one form of ID me included

did you read my post #37?

silverwhistle

Kernow666 wrote: »

one post wonder i suspect

That is just so cynical.. Where is the OP, by the way?

phatbear

i love the fact that this debate has covered 3 pages despite the OP not really making much sense, ie claiming they were denied boarding, when they actually weren't and then never coming back to the forum to give more info on the situation.

My input, based on my knowledge of such things it this. We quite often ask for secondary bits of ID from travelers especially if there are any credibility issues regarding the document they are traveling on of course if a passenger does not have such items we can not refuse them entry to the UK, assuming they are EU citizens, however if someone is able to supply some secondary ID this can speed the process up for them at the border.

Of course the situ which the OP claims happened is slightly different and it may have been born out of the need for carriers to ensure passengers are properly documented for their journey, if they are not then they face a fine of several thousand pounds and they are also liable to remove the person from the UK, regardless of cost

shaun_from_Africa

George_Michael wrote: »

That statement is incorrect as I occasionally fly from London to Dublin (which is an international flight) and a valid UK or Irish driving licence is acceptable as proof of identity provided that you are either a UK or ROI citizen.

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Legally, that is a journey within the Common Travel Area and so is very different from an international flight.

Actually, both of the above comment are sort of correct.

Flights from the UK to the Republic of Ireland are classed as international as far as the aircraft itself is concerned as an international flight plan is required but the passengers are a different matter.
There are 3 classes of passengers as far as the CAA and airports are concerned:
International departing/arriving,
Domestic departing/arriving,
Irish departing/arriving.

DTDfanBoy

George_Michael wrote: »

That statement is incorrect as I occasionally fly from London to Dublin (which is an international flight) and a valid UK or Irish driving licence is acceptable as proof of identity provided that you are either a UK or ROI citizen.

The requirement to be either a UK or ROI citizen doesn't seem to be actively enforced, I've travelled that route 30+ times in the last five years using a UK driving license, which clearly displays the nationality I used to obtain the license, the license never receives any more that a cursory glance and I've never been asked why it displays another country on it

FBaby

The bottom line is yes, sometimes they don't follow their own rules, and yes, sometimes you feel picked on, and yes, you want to argue and make a big scene about your rights, but most people just comply because they have nothing to lose and can't be bothered to waste everyone's time.

I was once asked for official papers at the French customs that I knew were not required. I mentioned that friendly first, but got a stern look back and the asked again, so I thought I had better things to do than waste my time and gave him what he wanted after which I was able to move on and swiftly forget about it.

Pick your battles!

Yolina

phatbear wrote: »

i love the fact that this debate has covered 3 pages despite the OP not really making much sense, ie claiming they were denied boarding, when they actually weren't and then never coming back to the forum to give more info on the situation.

The upside of this thread is that I've learnt that British passports don't carry the holder's address; and also from now on I'll be taking both my passport and ID card when travelling *just in case*

AlphaQ

Dear All,

Thank you for the positive and negative feedback, I appreciate that in today's world security is a paramount issue especially at airports, however, in my opinion a boarding gate member of staff is not the qualified person to judge whether a passport is fake / require a second form of ID (especially once other forms of security have been cleared). To the best of my research, when a passport is "flagged" the member of staff should alert Border Security which then takes over and re-checks the passengers documents.

I also apologize for being a "One post wonder", I was travelling (with easyjet again) and had no access to this forum. Thus the lack of replying, progress so far:

- Complaint email sent to easyjet on 31st Dec. (same day as flight)
- No reply received to date (15th January)
- Called EasyJet Customer Service - told that email will be forwarded to complaints team as customer service wouldn't know how to reply (reply expected within 5 working days).

(Contact info for easyjet Compalints team are apparently;
aro2@easyjet.com - 01582525525)

Finally, just to reply to some of the posts on here - representatives of EasyJet, Nantes Airport, and UK Border security have all confirmed that a passport itself is a sufficient travel document (i.e. no second form of ID needed).

My reaction may seem a little "OP" but the fact remains that the member of staff I had the pleasure of dealing with was rude, blunt and discriminating - I am all for keeping our airports and flights safe, but that should not come at the cost of racial profiling, humiliation and the free application of imaginary rules / regulations by staff.

phatbear

AlphaQ wrote: »

in my opinion a boarding gate member of staff is not the qualified person to judge whether a passport is fake / require a second form of ID (especially once other forms of security have been cleared)

And your opinion is incorrect.

Gate staff have training in identifying counterfeit/fake documents and given this is the last opportunity for the airline to ensure incorrectly documented passengers dont board.

As ive previously stated if an incorrectly documented person gets to the uk it costs the airline several thousand pounds per passenger and they are liable to return the passenger from whence they came, which can be at the expense of bumping another passenger which entails the airline paying compensation to them too.

Bottom line is you were mildly inconvenienced and were not denied boarding, despite claiming you were. I would suggest you suck it up.

eDicky

phatbear wrote: »

Gate staff have training in identifying counterfeit/fake documents and given this is the last opportunity for the airline to ensure incorrectly documented passengers dont board.

True enough, when departing the UK, with no immigration control by border officials apart from the occasion spot check. But the OP was departing from Nantes, France, where, if I am not mistaken, they had already passed through immigration and had their passport controlled.