“There is no requirement for Irish and British citizens to carry passports when travelling within the Common Travel Area” – so says the Irish authorities.
The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a passport-free zone involving the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. It dates from 1923, and permits residents of these places to journey freely between them.
But from 25 February 2026, Aer Lingus will be a part of Ryanair in demanding that passengers between Great Britain and Ireland carry passports.
Until now Aer Lingus has allowed a variety of identification – together with a bus go, work ID card or worldwide scholar card – so long as it has {a photograph}.
The provider ’s spokesperson informed The Independent: “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.
“Passengers travelling on domestic services with Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Emerald Airlines, are exempt from this updated travel policy.
“Domestic services include Belfast-UK and Dublin-Donegal routes.”
British Airways, the sister airline of Aer Lingus, will proceed to enable passengers to journey with out passports on its hyperlinks from London City and Heathrow to Dublin.
The airline says: “You do not need a passport to travel between these destinations, known as the Common Travel Area (CTA), but you do require recognised photographic identification that proves your identity and nationality.”
One potential downside is that British Airways sells Aer Lingus flights on its web site, ba.com. A passenger shopping for an Aer Lingus ticket from ba.com could not realise that they want a passport to journey.
Explaining the choice, the Aer Lingus spokesperson stated: “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.”
Ferry corporations crusing throughout the Irish Sea between Ireland and England and Wales will proceed to settle for various types of identification.
There aren’t any checks between the republic and Northern Ireland.
Read extra: Common Travel Area: What is it, and how can it help travellers without a passport?
