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Comment by siva7 | Hacker News Reader

That's why ID's get checked at the boarding gate, so this trick wouldn't have been possible at many airports around europe at least. Not checking ID's seems somewhat irresponsible from a security perspective.

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It would have worked in Europe just fine because just like in US no one checks IDs on domestic flights. At least here in UK if you're flying inside the UK then no one looks at your ID at any point, you just need a ticket(flew like this literally last month, at no point has anyone asked me for any id)

In France I've flown Paris Toulouse and they still check your ID at the gate.

That's probably an airline thing though. I've flown Newcastle to Belfast and at no point anyone checked my ID, just the ticket, even at the gate.

I've always been checked for id, even for local flights as well (SXB, LYS, ETZ, LIS, BCN, MLH/BZL/EAP). Airlines were Air France and EasyJet.

MLH/BZL/EAP is fun because you kinda keep going back and forth across borders a few times as you walk around, and depending on where you "come from" the destination country can have slightly different requirements for entering upon arrival (which is checked at the gate on departure, I did get a random customs check on arrival once when crossing the swiss/french border). Not a problem on the happy path but could get hairy if you get into trouble I guess.

I think in France it may depend on "plan Vigipirate" levels as well.

How is that irresponsible for security? Everyone on the secure side of the airport has been secured in the same way. ID checkin at gate is revenue management, not security.

Indeed, and my ID is rarely checked when travelling within the Schengen area. It's up to airline policy.

I've literally never had my ID checked at the gate. Australia and US domestic, Australia to US, Asia, and Europe.

IDs are rarely checked here in EU, why so? Or maybe rarely is exaggerated, but 50/50 at least. What security issue arises besides security theater, that's a different checkpoint.

What I do not understand, what is creative here? If he had a buddy pass, and was denied because of a full plane, how could he hope for an empty seat? That sounds super dumb?

2nd I don't understand: The scanning at the gate doesn't check for tickets scanned twice? It marks people off, not? I thought that is how they call sometimes missing people out? So why were there no problems when he or the real owner scanned the ticket a second time?

1 - when the first flight was full he tried to get on another flight that he didn't know would be full.

2 - a person boarding after him was "denied" because her passport had already been scanned but they let her board anyway.

It's in the video embedded in the article.

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