What documents do I need at airport check-in?

What the check-in desk actually checks

An airline checking you in is doing two jobs at once: confirming you hold a valid ticket, and confirming the destination will let you in. The second job is why staff look closely at your passport expiry date and your visa.

Airlines carry the cost of flying a refused passenger home, so they check carefully and they have very little discretion. Understanding that makes the questions at the desk feel less arbitrary.

Have your accommodation address ready. A trip1 booking confirmation, on your phone or printed, gives the airline and the destination's border officers the hotel name, address and dates they ask for.

International flights - the full list

• Your passport, valid for the whole trip and usually for six months beyond your return date.
• Your booking reference, e-ticket number or mobile boarding pass.
• Any visa, e-visa or travel authorisation such as an ESTA, an eTA or a UK ETA.
• Proof of onward or return travel, which many countries require and airlines check on their behalf.
• Your accommodation address at the destination, taken from your hotel booking confirmation.
• A completed digital arrival card, where the destination uses one.
• A yellow fever certificate if your route makes one necessary.

Domestic flights

Domestic check-in is much lighter. In most countries a government-issued photo ID, meaning a driving licence, a national ID card or a passport, plus your booking reference, is all you need.

In the United States, adult passengers on domestic flights need a REAL ID compliant licence, a passport or another federally accepted ID at the security checkpoint.

Children often need no ID at all on domestic flights, but the age cut-off varies by country and by airline. Check your airline's page before you leave for the airport rather than at the desk.

Bag drop, self check-in and passport scanning

Online check-in usually works end to end for domestic flights but often stops short for international ones. Many airlines still send you to a desk or a document check point so a person can look at your passport and visa.

Automated bag drop machines read your passport chip. If the scan fails, a staff member does it by hand, so keep the passport clean, dry and unbent, and remove any cover before you scan it.

Allow the airline's recommended arrival time, which is normally around three hours for a long-haul international flight. Document checks are what create the queue, not the bag itself.

If something is missing

The fixable version of this problem happens days earlier, not at the desk. Check your passport expiry, the status of any visa or authorisation, and the destination's entry rules about a week before you fly.

If you notice a problem at the airport, speak to the airline immediately rather than joining the queue and hoping. Some issues, such as a name spelling that does not match your passport, can be corrected on the spot.