Le Touquet LFAT - passports for internal flights?!
 

The men-in-suits at LFAT are insisting on passports for flights into LFAT from other locations in France (in my case La Rochelle). To be clear, this is all pilots, French or otherwise, regardless of whether their future intentions are to leave Schengen or not. I appreciate that most pilots will tend to carry passports and really it is not a bother but, still, the frenchman next to me didn't bring his and was being sent away. Is this actually legal?

I presume you mean the Douane who are the Immigration/Customs Police and wear uniforms

It is very unusual for a Frenchman to carry a passport. All Frenchman have ID cards. It is very unusual, for a French person, not to have it with them, even when travelling throughout the EU. Not carrying ID could always arouse suspicion from the police. ID is always being asked to be shown, for various everyday reasons: in Post Offices and collecting orders in shops. I too have an ID card, being a permanent resident in France, and no longer ever carry my passport unless it is specifically asked for. I always carry my Residents Permit (ID)

Le Touquet is a port, and in these times, perhaps, it is a reasonable step up in security, possibly a temporary one. On the other hand the Douane at Le Touquet have been notoriously inconsistent for, at least, the last 50 years or more. Sometimes they are at their post and sometimes they are not. Sometimes you are just waved through and sometimes you are not, as it suits them.

It is illegal to not have identification on you in France at any time, as the poster above says this is why everyone I know in France carries their national ID card in their wallet. If an officer asks you for ID in France, you are expected to have something on you, nothing to do with Schengen.

No, it is not. If you must provide a reason to prove your identity to the police, then you are given time (48 hours I think) to present your ID at a police station of your choice. Obviously, if you wish to access a restricted area then it is a reasonable, to establish who you are with ID, at the time.

And one of the conditions of your EASA and U.K. licence is that you carry a photo ID with it!

I was about to get all indignant about why should I have to carry ID!

However, you are exactly right. Your licence isn’t valid unless you have photo ID to prove it’s you. It’s the main reason I carry a second passport with my licence.

Having read the whole story over, I cannot help wondering if it wasn't a kind of "hidden camera" game.

It would already be strange, in today's France, for a team of officials to only include men and not a single female.
And asking for passports where they are only required for travelling to exotic destinations, while everybody and their dog carry an id-card (mandatory or not, I wouldn't know) would be "unusual", too.

It is not uncommon here in Spain either. We have to carry ID all the time, as a permanent resident I carry my biometric ID car rather than passport but non residents would expect to have to present a passport. Even for local flights to get through the security gate you need a passport or ID Card.

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France has applied for a temporary exception as stated here: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/po...der-control_en
However, Le Touquet didn't get included in https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sy...rised-bcps.pdf so I am not sure it is lawful.

As an isolated case, it's no big deal. But I am disappointed Ppruners lay down so easily. I want to avoid creeping officialdom that is clearly disproportionate.

In any case the temporary exception expires on October 31st and it will be interesting to see if they all disappear somewhere he following day!

What does it matter at the end of the day? You are legally required to carry photo ID as a pilot. A passport or national ID card seems to fit the requirement perfectly or amI missing something?

jonty
do you have a second passport just for flying ID ?

I have two passports specifically for flying as I can't work without a passport and when one goes away for visas etc I use the other one. Its also an emergency spare to ensure I don't get stranded down line somewhere!