Before end 2017: identity check for all passengers travelling from Belgian airports (also intra-Schengen flights)

By year end 2017 passengers travelling from Belgian airports to other EU Member States within the Schengen area will need to prove their identity by presenting official papers to the airline, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Security Jan Jambon announced today on Twitter.

If you are an EU national, you do not need to show your national ID card or passport when you are travelling from one border-free Schengen EU country to another, but this rule will change for passengers travelling from Belgium to other EU Member States. The decision was approved yesterday at a special ministerial council.

We will ask the airlines to perform a “conformity check”. Several low-cost airlines already cross-check national ID card or passport with travel documents, we will now generalise the rule, Jambon said.

The EU recommends that even if you don’t need a passport for border checks within the Schengen area, it is still always highly recommended to take a passport or ID card with you, so you can prove your identity if needed (if stopped by police, boarding a plane, etc.). EU Schengen countries have the possibility of adopting national rules obliging you to hold or carry papers and documents when you are present on their territory. Driving licences, post, bank or tax cards are not accepted as valid travel documents or proof of identity.