Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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241. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has engaged with airlines to highlighting the need to check passport expiry dates when purchasing flights; the guidelines or requirements that are currently in place for airlines to ensure consumers are protected from purchasing flights without having a valid passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7549/22]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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My Department regularly engages with airlines on various matters including those related to consumer protections which have a legal basis at EU level. The relevant EU wide consumer protections specific to aviation are related to air passenger rights on cancellation, denied boarding and long delays - commonly known as EU261 - rights to transparency relating to air fare pricing, access to air transport for persons with reduced mobility and rules concerning air carrier liability in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage by air.

The onus generally rests with intending passengers to satisfy any identification requirements, which ordinarily means official photo-identification such as a passport or other entry requirements of the immigration authorities at their destination or any points of transit. In some instances air carriers require some form of identification and some regard a passport as the only valid identification. The passenger is responsible to provide valid in date documentation.

My Department has not engaged with airlines specifically on the matter of ensuring passenger hold valid passports prior to booking flights however, the main Irish airlines do present relevant information on their websites and through their booking processes where required.