Aer Lingus has announced that it will allow passengers to board its flights between Ireland and Great Britain only if passengers possess a valid passport. This will come into effect from Feb. 25, 2026.
Rules for travel between Ireland and Great Britain
From 1923, the citizens of the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands could travel freely between them without a passport.
The Irish government says that,
“There is no requirement for Irish and British citizens to carry passports when travelling within the Common Travel Area.”
These places are a passport-free zone and are termed a Common Travel Area (CTA). But from Feb. 25, Aer Lingus will join Ryanair to allow passengers only with passports between Ireland and Great Britain.
Earlier, the airlines had allowed their passengers to travel in CTA with a wide range of identification, including a bus pass, work ID card or international student card, as long as it had a photograph.
The airline’s spokesperson said that,
“All customers, including Irish or British nationals, travelling on Aer Lingus and Aer Lingus Regional services between the Republic of Ireland and the UK will now require a valid passport or Irish passport card. The other forms of photo ID previously accepted will no longer be valid for travel.”
Same company, different rules
British Airways, the sister airline of Aer Lingus, will stay with the older rules to allow passengers to travel in the CTA without passports on its aircraft from London City and Heathrow to Dublin.
One of the major confusions is that British Airways sells Aer Lingus flights on its website, ba.com. This will lead to confusion, as the passengers might not notice the changes made by the airline.
To explain the decision, the airline’s spokesperson said:
“This aligns with the travel document requirements across the rest of our network and will ensure consistency and further improve our operational performance for our customers.”
The airline also mentioned that this change is only for travel between Ireland and Great Britain. Passengers travelling between Belfast and the UK, Dublin and Donegal are exempted from these changes. They can travel on Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Emerald Airlines.
What do you think of the change in rules? Share your opinion in the comments.
