RyanAir refusing Post Office ID for UK flight - Do I have a claim?

PinkPrincess

Hi, 

I have a query I’m hoping someone can help me with. My son recently booked a flight with RyanAir to Dublin from Birmingham. 

He doesn’t have a passport but we checked the UK and Ireland’s government websites which clearly states that you do NOT need a passport to travel but a form of photo ID will be required. 

My son has a Post Office ID (aka EasyID) and after throughly checking numerous official websites and calling both airports and RyanAir, it was confirmed to us that the ID was accepted for travel. 

Upon boarding the flight, my son was initially refused for not having a passport. He eventually managed to convince the flight attendant that he had been assured his ID was legally accepted by both English & Irish authorities as well as RyanAir themselves and was thankfully allowed to board the plane. However he was told that his ID had now been “flagged” and he will not be able use it to travel again in the future. 

Even though the flight attendant had consistently denied the Post Office ID being legal and suitable for travel, he then said his reason was that my son had ticked the option ‘passport’ on the booking as his form of ID. 

The issue is that there was no other option for his form of ID when booking the ticket. 

My question is, does he have grounds for a claim as this caused him a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress (he is neurodivergent and has an anxiety disorder) but more importantly, he now doesn’t know if he will be able to use his ID again to fly within the UK. 

Sorry for the long post but I hope that makes sense? Post Office ID is relatively new as it was only launched a couple of years ago but surely airlines should be up to date? 

Thank you in advance for your help. 

eskbanker

PinkPrincess said:

Even though the flight attendant had consistently denied the Post Office ID being legal and suitable for travel, he then said his reason was that my son had ticked the option ‘passport’ on the booking as his form of ID. 

The issue is that there was no other option for his form of ID when booking the ticket.

That's because they don't accept non-passport ID for UK travellers to Ireland!

Airlines are at liberty to impose more stringent conditions than those required by governments, so even if the UK and Irish governments, recognising that both countries comprise a common travel area, advise that there is no necessity for passports to travel between them, an airline can insist on this, and hence the separate reference to 'our requirements' below:

What travel documents are valid and can be used for travel on Ryanair flights?

When travelling with Ryanair, we generally accept 2 forms of ID:

• A valid passport;
• A valid National Identity Card.

We do not accept a driver's license or birth certificate for travel to any location. It is each passenger’s responsibility to carry Photo ID which meets our requirements and the requirements of the relevant Immigration Authority.

There are different rules for different destinations, so please be sure to check these before you travel.

https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb/categories/12488813755537-Check-In-Travel-Documents

They used to be more explicit about the UK/Ireland situation but the link below doesn't seem to work anymore:

Common Travel Area Requirements

A valid passport is required for travel with Ryanair between Ireland and the UK. No exceptions will be made.

Driving licenses are not acceptable for travel with Ryanair between the UK and Ireland.

https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360017683257

PinkPrincess said:

My question is, does he have grounds for a claim as this caused him a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress (he is neurodivergent and has an anxiety disorder) but more importantly, he now doesn’t know if he will be able to use his ID again to fly within the UK. 

He may be able to use that ID to fly within the UK but not to Ireland with Ryanair (which isn't a 'UK flight' as might be implied by your thread title, it's an international flight, albeit within a common travel area).  No grounds for a claim, although if Ryanair confirmed in writing that it was OK then theoretically they ought to accept some sort of culpability....

bagand96

I agree with the abive which explains Ryanair s policy well.

No claim against them. In fact they showed some reasoning and breached their own rules to let him fly. 

CKhalvashi

Dublin is not in the UK.

Ryanair only accept passports or EU ID cards as stipulated in their terms and conditions for travel. OP stated they had read the terms and conditions on booking.

OP would have been correctly denied boarding for lack of ID however luckily Ryanair breached their own policies.

Airlines are allowed to set additional restrictions to government restrictions.

No claim is here.

As a company, we only accept a passport, driving license or an EU/selected other countries ID for business reasons. Any Post Office ID will be refused by us and we don't (generally) offer services with international travel.

Westin

Also agree with the above.

Were you actually there with him for this trip? Placing aside the validity of the travel documentation for a moment, it is very very strange that it was the flight attendant, after boarding, that challenged and raised this issue, plus for them to even have the time pre-departure for such discussions.  Such checks would typically be picked up by ground staff prior to even reaching the aircraft.

Certainly no compo claim ‘ as this caused him a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress’.

Caz3121

There is a difference between UK domestic flights and UK-Ireland flights.
If he wants to do the same trip in the future he will have two options
1) Get a passport
2) Use another airline  - Aer Lingus operate the route also and do not insist on passport
Maybe he was given the incorrect information as he referred to a UK flight (which it was not) Ryanair are pretty clear that they do not accept other id for UK to Ireland flights