The German government has rejected a proposal from the Bundesrat (Federal Council) that would have mandated identity checks for all passengers before boarding an aircraft. While countries like France, Spain, and Belgium have been checking identification documents and boarding passes at the gate for some time, Germany is sticking to its current regulations.
This provision stipulates that within the Schengen Area, passengers who check in online and travel with only hand luggage are often not subject to physical identity checks by staff or government officials. The German government justified its rejection of this provision during the current consultations on the Air Security Act by citing outstanding questions and differing positions within the ministries involved.
Criticism of this decision comes particularly from the German Police Union (GdP) and the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior, which introduced the initiative to the Federal Council. Security experts argue that the lack of knowledge about the actual identity of passengers represents a significant gap in the prosecution of crimes and the prevention of terrorist threats. Systematic data matching would massively facilitate the work of the Federal Police. In contrast, proponents of the current regulation, including representatives of the Green Party in the Bundestag, emphasize that private airlines should not serve as a "substitute police force" and that state control tasks should not be readily delegated to the private sector.
The aviation industry itself is issuing urgent warnings about the operational consequences of mandatory gate checks. The German Aviation Association (BDL) and the German Airports Association (ADV) point out that additional manual checks could jeopardize punctuality and further weaken the already strained competitiveness of Germany's aviation sector. Furthermore, they question whether a purely administrative name check would actually improve security, as it would not affect physical security screening of passengers and baggage. While automated biometric systems could offer a solution, they are currently hampered by the legal framework governing the use of official passport data by private entities.
Further research shows that the issue has been regularly discussed in political bodies since 2018 without reaching a consensus. Italy recently abolished a similar requirement to expedite airport procedures and to bring air travel more in line with rail travel, where there is also no general obligation to carry identification. Meanwhile, in Germany, deliberations on the Air Security Act continue in the Bundestag. In addition to identity verification, new regulations on drone defense and the modernization of airport infrastructure are also on the agenda, although a decision on name matching is not expected until a later revision of the law.