Asked for extra identification at the boarding gate

nicolae58
nicolae58 Posts: 1 Newbie
edited 11 December 2018 at 5:52PM in Flights, currency & car hire
So I recently traveled via Ryanair from Barcelona El Prat to London Stansted, a route which I fly quite frequently, and for the first time I was told by the boarding agent at the boarding gate that my EEA identity card is not enough and I would need to show them either a credit/debit card with the name on it or a valid driver's license. Mind that I am a Romanian citizen with a valid EEA identity card and have traveled many times across the EU with only my ID. Also mind that the very same morning I passed El Prat security control with the same ID and later British passport control with it. Since my wallet was somewhere deep inside my bag, I suggested that perhaps this was a mistake and that I would not need to provide these. I was surprised to be told that for security reasons this was mandatory and promptly showed them my debit card. Because this was all new to me, I asked for the boarding agent's name so I could later follow up on this, since I was under the impression that she might not have the correct information. She rudely refused, flipper her work badge and asked that I move on. I contacted Ryanair for clarification, who said that the boarding agents are employees of a company called Lesma Handling and I should contact them. I contacted Lesma Handling and was told they do not make the policies, but no confirmation whether that was indeed the requirement. The subject was clearly and purposely avoided. Upon politely insisting, the Lesma Handling representative, which by the way was a manager, hung up on me. Back I go to Ryanair a second time. Finally, a Ryanair customer service representative confirms over the phone that there is no requirement to show credit/debit cards or driver's license and suggests that I send a complain email, which I did. The reply was basically an apology, but again no written mention whether the request was legit or not. I'd like to get from them a written confirmation that I can show to the boarding agents should this happen again. I find this a form of discrimination based on my nationality - neither my Spanish girlfriend, nor my Dutch friend were asked for any additional documents. They both travel with ID as well. Any advice or thoughts on the whole situation?

Comments

  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,244
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    My first thought: life is too short. Being required to show a debit card is no great hardship, and you have already spent more time and effort on the matter than it deserves.


    Having said that, the hint of discrimination based on your nationality is rather serious. If you want to pursue the matter then you might note that the right to travel freely across the EU using your identity card is a matter of European law. There is an EU body called Solvit that assists citizens to sustain their rights under EU law, and so they might be in a position to help you.
  • My first thought: life is too short. Being required to show a debit card is no great hardship, and you have already spent more time and effort on the matter than it deserves.


    Having said that, the hint of discrimination based on your nationality is rather serious. If you want to pursue the matter then you might note that the right to travel freely across the EU using your identity card is a matter of European law. There is an EU body called Solvit that assists citizens to sustain their rights under EU law, and so they might be in a position to help you.

    I agree that life is too short but I'm wondering how the party could come to the U.K. without a passport as the U.K. isn't in the Schengen area so wouldn't ALL of them require a passport to come into the U.K.?
  • AlexMac
    AlexMac Posts: 2,973
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    You know, sometimes you just have to roll with the blows?

    Slightly less problematic than when we went on a stag weekend to Leipzig with my London-based Cuban mate who has an Irish (thus EU) passport from when he got off the plane from Uni in Russia and claimed asylum in Dublin 20 odd years ago (as people in Cuba were then a tad intolerant of gay people).

    (I hope you are keeping up?)

    Anyway, as (former) East German border kontrol staff were a tad unfamiliar with (code for violently intolerant of ) Black people (have you ever been to Eastern Bloc countries? White as the driven snow!), the sight of a Black Irishman with a Spanish accent blew their synapses. In fact they weren't even sure Ireland was in the EU... Had to phone MissionKontrol...

    We thought they'd never let us out...

    But not as weird as me being refused boarding of my plane back to London from Lubljana on Christmas eve after visiting mates in the pre-civil war Jugoslavia 1980's because I was rash enough to take an early computer; a Sinclair- to my mate in Maribor as a prezzie... Has to spend Xmas there (lots of slivovick to compensate!)

    As I say- travel is always subject to the whims of petty officails and bureaucrats.... Roll with the blows
  • jpsartre
    jpsartre Posts: 4,085
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    I agree that life is too short but I'm wondering how the party could come to the U.K. without a passport as the U.K. isn't in the Schengen area so wouldn't ALL of them require a passport to come into the U.K.?


    You don't need a passport to enter the UK, a national ID card from an EU country is sufficient.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,244
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    I agree that life is too short but I'm wondering how the party could come to the U.K. without a passport as the U.K. isn't in the Schengen area so wouldn't ALL of them require a passport to come into the U.K.?


    Schengen means the freedom to travel without ANY ID (although airlines may require this for their own purposes). EU citizens do not need passports to travel anywhere within the EU, needing only a passport or national ID card to prove that they are indeed EU citizens.
  • Well you live & learn!


    I knew that Schengen meant that you could cross a border without any passport but didn't think you could travel within the EU without a passport so long as you had a national ID card.
  • D_M_E
    D_M_E Posts: 3,008
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    Schengen only applies inside the EU, the UK did not sign up to it but do allow EU nationals to visit the UK using some form of ID and no passport.

    Whether or not this will continue after Brexit is at present uncertain but, given that the EU, from 2021, want to charge UK passport holders 7 euros for a 3-year visa to enter and roam around the EU, then the UK implementation of Schengen - to which the UK never signed up - is likely to be stopped.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,244
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    D_M_E wrote: »
    Schengen only applies inside the EU, the UK did not sign up to it but do allow EU nationals to visit the UK using some form of ID and no passport.

    Whether or not this will continue after Brexit is at present uncertain but, given that the EU, from 2021, want to charge UK passport holders 7 euros for a 3-year visa to enter and roam around the EU, then the UK implementation of Schengen - to which the UK never signed up - is likely to be stopped.


    Schengen only applies within part of the EU (the Schengen zone) and has no relevance to the UK.



    A completely separate issue: EU citizens have freedom of movement throughout the EU and can pass borders showing only their national identity cards. Freedom of movement will be one of the casualties of Brexit: I expect the UK to require passports after that, although our government would be free to accept EU identity cards for short visits if that were judged to be in our interest. EU law will not govern this issue since we will not longer be subject to it.
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