Air travel inside the UK

A couple of weeks ago my wife, Helen, had a business trip to Bristol. So, rather than driving or taking the train, the quickest option was to travel by EasyJet from Newcastle to Bristol. She had to take her passport to be able to get on the plane. It set me thinking; why did she need a passport to travel inside the UK?

After all, you don’t need a passport to take the train to Bristol. Or a coach, for that matter. And I’ve never needed a passport to drive my car to Bristol. This is inside this country. These are internal flights. Next time you travel inside the country and have to show your passport, ask yourself why?

PS I know people are going to say “Because they mix International and Internal passengers.” I don’t care about that; they also check your boarding card and passport at the gate before you get on the plane.