Aer Lingus has tightened its security and identification rules for passengers travelling between Ireland and the UK.
While the airline has famously allowed various forms of identification for passengers – beyond just passports – including a driving licence, union card and birth certificate, Aer Lingus will now on only accept passports or passport cards for Ireland to UK flights taken by Irish nationals.
The move, which comes into force on February 25, is being made partly in response to the new electronic travel authorisation (ETA) programme being introduced by the UK government, which requires most non-visa national visitors, including many European tourists, to pay for digital permission to enter the UK, costing approximately £10–£16.
Aer Lingus is also making the move in order to more uniformly bring into line passenger requirements for its global route network.
In a statement, the airline said: “Aer Lingus is updating its travel document requirements for flights between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, effective from 25 February 2026.
“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. Other forms of photo ID previously accepted (eg: driver’s licence) 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.
“This aligns with the travel document requirements across the rest of our network and will ensure consistency across our network and further improve our operational performance for our customers.
“[Also effective from 25 February 2026, Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) will be required by anyone travelling to the UK who is not a British or Irish national and does not hold a valid UK visa or other immigration permission. Certain nationalities will require an eVisa. Customers are strongly advised to check the UK Government website for further information.]
“Aer Lingus advises customers to check all travel documents in advance of travel to avoid any disruption.”
