Lax security on domestic flights

In the US the TSA always checks everyone's ID at the security screening, for domestic flights you just need to show your boarding pass at the gate. At some airports in Europe (for domestic EU flights), that ID check is done at the gate instead of at the security screening. IMO not a big deal, just a bit of role reversal....in the end your ID is checked, and everyone had gone through a security screening.

I know what they do in the US. I was referring to Europe. I cited specific examples. I wasn't asking whether this was true, I was telling you what we experienced. My ID was never checked at security in Frankfurt, and we got on the flight swiping the bar code of our own ticket to get on the plane. No one checked either my own or my husbands ID's. Anyone could have had our plane tickets and gotten on board. Then when we went to Zagreb, they checked neither an ID or even our plane tickets going through security. When we went to board the plane, they simply took our tickets and let us go through. Again, anyone could have used a valid plane ticket to get on board these flights.

I'm confused you said in your original post that they did check your "...tickets AND our passports getting on to the flight..." They simply did the checking in a different sequence to how it's done in other airports. I've read that at the new security hall they built at Gatwick airport, passengers now feed their ID into a machine with turnstiles, it's not even viewed by a human anymore.

Sorry, okay, the third example about Dubrovnik was a totally different day. Like, we flew from Frankfurt on 9/1, then we flew out of Zagreb on 9/15, and then our flight from Dubrovnik was on 9/20. I was just saying that it wasn't until a third domestic flight that ID was ever checked before boarding a plane. I was just surprised and wondered if anyone could share any info on why the screening process is so much laxer there. Another example, we never had to take off shoes going through security in Europe (which was really nice!) and I was the only one taking my quart bag liquids out of my purse. (Well, maybe I was the only one with liquids...)

Oh, and considering how technologically advanced Germany is, I didn't know if they had special cameras tracking you from the airline's check-in counter to the gate. ;)

At Frankfurt, when you walk through the airport and get to the entrance to the Security area, you need to show your ticket and passport to even get into this area. Did this not happen with you? Otherwise, anyone could walk in there. This is where you got verified. Anything else they do is just more icing on the security cake. They don't make you take off your shoes in Frankfurt. One of the silliest security inventions ever that takes up time and costs money, simply because of ONE MAN. Yeah, there are cameras everywhere at Frankfurt airport, as well as dogs behind the scenes and even undercover dogs strolling through the airport with their undercover handlers.

The only time we ever showed our passport was at the ticket counter. At security, they only checked our ticket. I kept it out because I kept waiting for it to be checked, and it never was. Neither was my husbands.
I'm glad Europe has enough sense to let us keep our shoes on! ;)

I agree with Jo regarding the process and location for checking your documents at FRA, but a few years ago (2005) the security agent only checked the boarding pass for one of us in a group of four travelers. We were in a hurry and sort of fumbling around, so I don't know if he was impatient or what, but I was very surprised he didn't check documents for the rest of us. He didn't even check for ID/passport...just one boarding pass and just said c'mon through for the rest of us. Very odd. He was totally rouge. I've never seen anything like that before anywhere. Needless to say, this isn't the norm. He probably should have been fired/sacked.

I thought of something else. It seemed like Europeans weren't concerned about walking away from their belongings in the airports either. An extreme example of this was, in Dubrovnik, we were waiting for our flight, and a woman with a stroller and baggage walked away from her belongings and into a store that was about 30 feet away and shopped in there for a few minutes. She didn't even keep her eyes on their luggage/belongings. I guess I've become so "trained" here in the states to report if someone walks away from their luggage that it seemed strange to me.

Is it lax security or a less paranoid society. Shoes are only removed for flights into, out of and within the US. The rest of us are allowed to keep them on. I think there is a greater chance of injury from the flight attendant dumping hot coffee in your lap than from exploding sneakers.

Boy, in Frankfurt they sure come looking for you if you leave your bag somewhat unattended. I am at the airport quite a bit, and they are always coming up and asking people around an unattended bag if it is theirs. I figure they must be watching with cameras and then send the security over if they seem something iffy.

I agree that everyone taking off their shoes is pretty dumb. Every time I have to do that I say to myself, "f***ing Richard Reid!"

In several European countries there was no security screening at all for domestic flights before september 2001. I Denmark, you simply walked out to your plane from the terminal building. No check-in, no security. Just a quick ticket check in the terminal door when you walked out to your plane.

I recently flew from Stuttgart to Zurich to Barcelona and back the same way on SwissAir. I then flew from Stuttgart to Budapest and then from Vienna to Stuttgart on GermanWings. We printed out our boarding passes at home and didn't check luggage. At no point did I have to show any form of ID for any of these flights other than my boarding pass. I mean literally - not did any airline or airport official see a photo ID of me in conjunction with my boarding pass. I thought it was a little strange but since it happened consistently I figured that's just standard here.

Thanks for sharing your story, Sarah! At least I don't look crazy!

James - same thing happened bringing our cat over. After all the hassle of getting the paperwork for her, I was shocked nobody glanced at all at her. Then again I didn't really go through anything resembling customs that I can remember either, but I was so sleep deprived at that point I could have just wandered through it in a daze.