From today, 25 February 2026, every passenger boarding an Aer Lingus or Aer Lingus Regional service between the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain must show a valid passport or Irish passport card. The carrier has scrapped the long-standing option for Irish and British citizens to fly within the Common Travel Area (CTA) on alternative photo ID such as a driving licence or student card.
The decision, first flagged last week, aligns Aer Lingus with Ryanair, which has required passports on the route since 2021. British Airways – the third largest operator on the corridor – will continue to accept other photographic ID, but the airline warns that many itineraries sold as BA codeshares are actually operated by Aer Lingus aircraft, exposing unsuspecting travellers to the stricter rule. Ferry operators and regional flights on Emerald Airlines’ Dublin–Donegal and Belfast domestic services are exempt, preserving some passport-free connectivity within the island of Ireland.
For travellers who discover their passport has lapsed or who have never held one, VisaHQ can streamline the application or renewal process; its Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers fast document checking, secure courier options and real-time status tracking, helping passengers obtain the required passport or any ancillary visas well before departure.
![Aer Lingus ends driver's-licence travel: passports now mandatory on Ireland–UK flights]()
Aer Lingus says the move brings “operational consistency and security certainty” ahead of the UK’s full Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) enforcement, which transfers more liability for document checks to carriers. Ground agents have been retrained and gate scanners re-configured to reject non-passport ID. The airline is urging corporate travel managers to update traveller profiles immediately; several large Dublin tech multinationals have already issued internal alerts after staff were turned away at check-in during yesterday’s soft-launch.
Practically, the change eliminates one of the CTA’s most visible conveniences, adding cost and administrative friction for residents who do not otherwise need a passport. Expatriates using Irish passport cards should verify the card’s NFC chip is readable and not close to expiry. Parents of school groups and sports teams – who frequently relied on collective letters and bus passes – must now obtain passports for all minors. Failure to comply will result in denied boarding, and airlines are not obliged to re-accommodate passengers without valid travel documents.
Longer-term, travel-law experts say the policy underscores a slow but steady hardening of CTA practice as the UK digitises its borders. Unless government-to-government protocols evolve, other carriers may follow suit, effectively making the possession of a passport de facto mandatory for anyone flying between the two islands, even if the underlying CTA treaty still allows passport-free travel on paper.
The decision, first flagged last week, aligns Aer Lingus with Ryanair, which has required passports on the route since 2021. British Airways – the third largest operator on the corridor – will continue to accept other photographic ID, but the airline warns that many itineraries sold as BA codeshares are actually operated by Aer Lingus aircraft, exposing unsuspecting travellers to the stricter rule. Ferry operators and regional flights on Emerald Airlines’ Dublin–Donegal and Belfast domestic services are exempt, preserving some passport-free connectivity within the island of Ireland.
For travellers who discover their passport has lapsed or who have never held one, VisaHQ can streamline the application or renewal process; its Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers fast document checking, secure courier options and real-time status tracking, helping passengers obtain the required passport or any ancillary visas well before departure.
Aer Lingus says the move brings “operational consistency and security certainty” ahead of the UK’s full Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) enforcement, which transfers more liability for document checks to carriers. Ground agents have been retrained and gate scanners re-configured to reject non-passport ID. The airline is urging corporate travel managers to update traveller profiles immediately; several large Dublin tech multinationals have already issued internal alerts after staff were turned away at check-in during yesterday’s soft-launch.
Practically, the change eliminates one of the CTA’s most visible conveniences, adding cost and administrative friction for residents who do not otherwise need a passport. Expatriates using Irish passport cards should verify the card’s NFC chip is readable and not close to expiry. Parents of school groups and sports teams – who frequently relied on collective letters and bus passes – must now obtain passports for all minors. Failure to comply will result in denied boarding, and airlines are not obliged to re-accommodate passengers without valid travel documents.
Longer-term, travel-law experts say the policy underscores a slow but steady hardening of CTA practice as the UK digitises its borders. Unless government-to-government protocols evolve, other carriers may follow suit, effectively making the possession of a passport de facto mandatory for anyone flying between the two islands, even if the underlying CTA treaty still allows passport-free travel on paper.
