“things were running much more smoothly” since half of them are at home on strike
That would be because, with 50% of Border Force on strike, the average BF IQ will approximately double, the average BMI will halve (improving general mobility, and vehicle MPG), and enabling the rubber boats to be boarded without risk of sinking.
Just to close out this story: I recieved a full refund from Finnair, but not an apology for their booking system failing to warn about this trap. A few simple words on entering a UK passport expiry date would have done. The UK Passport office had an appointment early the next week and I received my new passport 2 days later. A contract security guy said “things were running much more smoothly” since half of them are at home on strike. What you can’t do is get a same day passport or a next day appointment, so I’d have been screwed anyway.
Extremely limited applicability there… Indeed I can fly to Alderney without a PP (but will draw attention from the “security contractors”).
Peter wrote:
Passports (no ID cards possible) have been mandatory all the years that I remember.
Prior to Brexit as an EU or Swiss Citizen national ID cards were allowed as far as I remember.
And it appears they still work for some as per @Ibra s post.
Airlines seem to inform their pax that passports only are allowed. As they do not have the means to check the provisions given under the regulation cited, I suppose that is what they will want to see.
Apart, there are advantages using passports. In many places, automatic entry scanners are in use which are massively faster than the queues in front of immigration officials, but they also require the use of a passport, not an ID. We have them at ZRH and i’ve also seen them in Sofia. Not sure if the UK uses them for entry.
Are you sure? I thought they stopped that, even for those with treaty rights, but I’m not certain
Passport is obligatory for everyone.
It’s here, untill Dec2025
You cannot use an EU, EEA or Swiss national ID card to enter the UK unless you: have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man’s settlement schemes…have an EU Settlement Scheme family permit, or the equivalent from Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man…In these cases, you can continue to use your national ID card to enter the UK until at least 31 December 2025.
Passports (no ID cards possible) have been mandatory all the years that I remember.
Immigration is a political hot potato here… The easy way to enter the UK is in a rubber boat and tell them you have come from Aleppo instead of Tirana 
It makes sense for the airline to do the passport check. Why not? It saves a lot of people a lot of trouble. Even in GA, people sometimes forget; I heard of one case just the other day.
Airborne_Again wrote:
This shows the madness of outsourcing government tasks to private enterprises and then threaten them with unreasonable fines if they make a mistake.
The UK were the first in my memory to do this with regards to the airlines. By now, there are many destinations where a document check is being done by the airlines or mostly specialized companies doing it for them. Swissport for instance has a subsidy called Checkport for that.
As I said, refused bordings because of invalid papers is pretty rare today, as almost all airlines ask for you to fill in your passport/ID details while you book your flight or latest at check in. Most cases where invalid documents are presented are discovered then and corrective action can still be taken (particularly if done at the time you book). The function of those agencies are primarily to cover the national particularities some countries have which are not subject to the exit control you get.
Also today, the information of what you need for your trip are readily available. In the old days when the UK started to impose those inad fines to airlines, that was not the case. It was up to travel agencies to inform their customers.
Ibra wrote:
You can also go to UK with ID card if you happen to be one of those that are ‘Art50.citizens rights’
I understand that the UK does no longer accept anyone with just an ID. Passport is obligatory for everyone.
I recall my last entry into the UK some years ago and it was by far the one with the largest scrutiny I’ve come across in recent years. That was a surprise. In contrast, entering the US as an ESTA holder was a total non-event.
Are you sure? I thought they stopped that, even for those with treaty rights, but I’m not certain.
derek wrote:
as an EU citizen can enter any Schengen zone country with just a national ID card that expires the following day.
You can also go to UK with ID card if you happen to be one of those that are ‘Art50.citizens rights’
denopa wrote:
Fascinating that EU countries can decide whether a passport issued by another nation is valid or not, based on their rules
I would expect this is considered a national competence everywhere in the world, with many countries having far more onerous rules for entry than the EU.
The EU rules reduce the scope for arbitrariness with respect to its own members, as an EU citizen can enter any Schengen zone country with just a national ID card that expires the following day.
