Do airline companies have the right to ask identity documents of persons travelling on intra Schengen flights?
According to the Schengen acquis, which has been integrated in the framework of the European Union with the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, internal borders between Member States applying the Schengen acquis may be crossed without any checks on persons being carried out. As far as flights are concerned, internal borders mean the airports for internal flights, i. e. any flight exclusively to or from the territories of the Member States applying the Schengen acquis. Authorities of the Member States are thus not allowed to carry out border checks solely for the reason that the person is crossing the internal border. However, this does not affect the right of airline companies to carry out identity checks within a commercial framework, i.e. when the passenger checks in, with a view to ensuring that he/she is the person indicated on the ticket or that he/she is entitled to certain discounts. In addition, carriers are allowed to carry out checks for security reasons, for instanc
