ID cards

[Rob-Roy]

My sister wants to fly from Birmingham to Inverness. Her passport is now out of date. I have been told that there is an ID card you can get from the Post Office which will cover you for internal flights and much cheaper. She is disabled and will not be travelling abroad again.

[bednobs]

who is she flying with?

[Buenchico]

The only form of ID which is accepted for security purposes by ALL airlines is either a passport or a National Identity card. (UK National ID cards are currently only available, under a pilot scheme, to residents and workers in the northwest of England).

If, for example, your sister wished to fly with Ryanair she would have to obtain a passport (or, if her home address is in the northwest of England, a National ID card). However the Birmingham to Inverness route is operated solely by FlyBe. Acceptable forms of ID for FlyBe's domestic services are listed here:
http://www.flybe.com/...o/id_requirements.htm
You'll see that a Citizen Card is an acceptable form of ID with FlyBe. That's probably what you've been told about (since I've seen application forms in some Post Offices). It's primarily a 'proof of age' card but anyone can apply for one. (The cost is £15, or £30 for an urgent application). The FlyBe webpage includes a link and a phone number.

Chris

[Mamyalynne]

I recently had a letter saying I could apply for an ID card as I live in Northwest and one of the proofs needed was a passport???

[Buenchico]

Oops!

It's probably not relevant anyway but I stand corrected by Mamyalynne's post. While it will not be necessary, in the long term, to hold a passport in order to obtain a UK ID card, the trial scheme is only accepting applications from UK passport holders.
http://idsmart.direct.gov.uk/index.html

Sorry!

Chris