I've been using my Thai driver's license at check in at the airport for years, but apparently there's a rumor going around that foreigners are no longer able to do this and must show their passport or be denied boarding.  This is allegedly a recent development/change or rules.

 

Has anyone flying domestically (specifically on Air Asia) in the last week or so and encountered this problem?

 

Thanks!  ?

heard from where
fake news on FB?

33 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

heard from where
fake news on FB?

On here.

Flew domestic from Swampy to Chiangmai 2 weeks ago....still used my Thai DL.

My feeling is if you are going somewhere away from your Thai home and maybe staying in a hotel you will need to have your passport anyway.  Also the local.law requires you to have easy access to your passport if required to be seen by the authorities and it becomes more difficult if you are in Chang Mail and your PP is in your home safe in Phuket. I was asked for it to buy a train ticket at Hualongpon and sometimes but not always in regional stations. My rule is here is going away from home, take passport copy.  Using public transport other than busses or if staying overnight somewhere take the real thing.  It is not too much of an imposition and could save a lot of aggro.

 

Edited July 23, 20187 yr by The Deerhunter

I used Thai driving licence in Feb to go to Chiang Mai.....not a problem then !!!

I used my DL on a domestic flight 3 months ago. But like Deerhunter I take my passport when going upcountry. Only last week the hotel I stayed at in Lopburi insisted on my passport at checkin-in, saying it was specified on the TM form they had to fill in. I pretended I didn't have it and they were quite happy to settle for just the passport number. Other hotels have not been so accommodating.

When you do you booking online they tell you that you must show you're Passport and at the Airport they ask for that to,Last week Domestic Flight from Hat Ya ,Bangkok return they Asked for Passport

flew over 20 legs domestic this year on Air Asia, nok, lion. 

 

Not once been asked for PP.

 

Used DL all the way.

Maybe the rumor has developed from a recent thread that foreigners at the domestic terminal in Don Mueang were checked by police for passport, proof of legal stay (which a DL is not).

The description sounded reasonable.

And why shouldn't it happen?

Crackdown on illegal foreigners is quite lively at least in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya. Happens in public "hotspots".

 

For me it is irrelevant anyway as I never do long distance trips/overnight/flights without passport.

Edited July 23, 20187 yr by KhunBENQ

Always use ONLY my Thai DL when travelling by air. Just came back Thursday from BKK, again only carrying my DL.Also use it to check into hotels.

Is it such a big deal or hardship to carry your passport when traveling ?? Why would anyone even risk having a problem when traveling without your passport ? Are you afraid you will lose it ??

Yep easy enough to carry once in awhile. Would be a pain if you used DL leaving and return leg said no.....then it may be a challenge 

The train station in CM does not accept Thai DL's anymore, only passport accepted , when I asked they said new rules.   This was back a year ago. 

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, cnx355 said:

Flew domestic from Swampy to Chiangmai 2 weeks ago....still used my Thai DL.

Thanks!

29 minutes ago, how241 said:

Is it such a big deal or hardship to carry your passport when traveling ?? Why would anyone even risk having a problem when traveling without your passport ? Are you afraid you will lose it ??

 

Short answer, yes.  It's a lot safer in its hidden compartment back home in my apartment than it is in any hotel room or safe, or in my pocket out in public.    And some countries aren't as friendly or timely as others about replacing lost or damaged or stolen passports, especially if it's a recurring event.  So, where I have a history of getting by with my DL, the passport stays home.  If I'm not sure, the passport goes with me, to be pulled out if required. 

 

So far, I've never needed it traveling or staying in hotels domestically in Thailand.  The DL has always been adequate.  That's not to say I won't need it tomorrow, but I'd risk that before I'd risk losing my PP to loss, theft or damage from water.

 

Never had problems with my Thai DL, neither at hotels nor at airports (incl very recently). I do carry high-quality (color) photo-copied pages of my passport front page and the relevant visa pages though, that has always sufficed.

Although I carry my passport just in case I always produce my DL- never had a problem at CM, UTP, Swampy or Hkt. The hotels I stay in have never made an issue of me producing my DL either.

 

The more often I produce my passport the more often I have a chance to lose it so it stays in a completely separate back bit of my bum bag. Far less hassle to get a replacement DL if things go wrong. If I desperately need to produce the Pport it is on hand.

 

Last flight was 29 Jun and had no issues with DL as ID.

 

Also all police checks when I drove to and from Hkt to CM over the past few weeks had no issue with me producing DL and not one asked for Pport.

5 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Short answer, yes.  It's a lot safer in its hidden compartment back home in my apartment than it is in any hotel room or safe, or in my pocket out in public.    And some countries aren't as friendly or timely as others about replacing lost or damaged or stolen passports, especially if it's a recurring event.  So, where I have a history of getting by with my DL, the passport stays home.  If I'm not sure, the passport goes with me, to be pulled out if required. 

 

So far, I've never needed it traveling or staying in hotels domestically in Thailand.  The DL has always been adequate.  That's not to say I won't need it tomorrow, but I'd risk that before I'd risk losing my PP to loss, theft or damage from water.

 

Simple solution to your concerns is to carry a photocopy of your passport which should satisfy everyone.

 

A hotel refused my driving licence the other day, fortunately I always have a copy of PP in the car.

14 hours ago, Tofer said:

A hotel refused my driving licence the other day,

Which means that this hotel follows its obligations.

Copies are always with me even when traveling by car in the district/province only.

Does anyone know if a copy is acceptable when a passport is required? I use a copy when I change money.

Just got home, and I flew and checked-in to the hotel with my Thai DL.

Edited July 29, 20187 yr by up-country_sinclair