An Australian man has been released on Virgin Australia after a small mark in his partner’s passport prevented them from boarding a flight to Bali.
Sean Ferres, a Gold Coast-based DJ and music producer, along with his girlfriend Brooke, were headed to the popular island destination when she was stopped because of a “microscopic coffee stain” on her passport.
Speaking on social media, Ferres claims that despite using the damaged passport to fly to more than 20 different countries – including Bali previously – she was still not allowed to board the plane.
“Virgin Australia decided that this microscopic coffee stain on Brooke’s passport made it ‘unreadable’ and denied us boarding on our flight to Bali,” Ferres explained on Facebook to his almost 9,000 followers.
“Virgin then promised us they would reassign us to another flight at no cost once we sorted out the passport.”
However, Ferres claims the pair were marked as ‘no-shows’ on their flight and instead of being given new seats on an alternative flight – were told to pay for a seat.
“Of course, all the flights the next day are either sold out or insanely expensive,” he explained, adding that they ended up spending $3,000 (approximately $2,053 USD) to fly Jetstar instead.
After arriving at the airport for the Jetstar flight, which was delayed by two hours, Ferres said the pair checked in and went to the gate “without interacting with a single person … and boarded our flight without any fuss”.
“Funnily, Jetstar had no problem with the passport, like the 100+ other flights we’ve taken on it,” he said.
“Landed in Bali, all electronic gates and straight through with no problems.
“It absolutely blows my mind that 25 years after the invention of the internet – in an age where even a $500 phone has advanced facial recognition – we still rely on a flimsy piece of paper to give way.”
A spokesperson from Virgin Australia told news.com.au that its staff must ensure passengers have the necessary travel documentation, including that the documents are in suitable condition.
“We assess travel documentation in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Australian Government and various immigration departments.”
Virgin recommends that travelers visit the Conditions of Carriage section of its website for more details on documentation.
Indonesian authorities can fine an airline IDR 50,000,000 (US$3,290) for allowing a passenger with a damaged passport, of course, with the airline that carried them generally responsible for all costs associated with their removal.
The pair are not the first to be turned away from a flight for what appears to be minor damage to a travel document.
Earlier this year, a couple in the United Kingdom accused budget airline Ryanair of kicking them out of the airport after it stopped them from flying because of a small tea stain on one of their passports.
The “embarrassing” incident happened in July as Roy Allen, 29, and his girlfriend Nina Wilkins, 35, were preparing to fly from the Costa Brava to Spain for a week.
“It’s just a blot on her passport,” Allen said at the time.
“She [the desk clerk] We looked at all our passports and didn’t open the lid and then went through security.”
The couple reportedly spent more than $370 (US$253) on food, drinks and other airport concessions, not knowing their dream getaway was about to take a huge left turn.
“We weren’t even thinking about the possibility that they wouldn’t let us on the plane,” Mr. Allen continued.
Things went south during boarding after gate staff examined the couple’s travel document and declared that they would not be allowed on the plane due to a tea stain.
“This passenger was correctly refused travel from East Midlands to Girona (July 7) as their passport was damaged and therefore not valid for travel,” a Ryanair spokesperson said in a statement.
“Ryanair requires each passenger to ensure that their passport is valid for travel in accordance with the relevant requirements at the time of travel.”
A Ryanair manager later apologized and explained that the desk clerk should never have waved them.
In March, another Australian on her way to Bali was kicked off her flight just hours before boarding because of a mark on her passport.
Taking to TikTok, Sydney woman Elyse Elmer said that after arriving at the airport before her flight to Denpasar, she was “denied entry” due to a minor mishap. There was a small tear in the spine of her passport.
“That’s literally … all it took for them to completely deny entry,” she said of the relatively minor tear.
While normal wear and tear on your passport is normal, serious damage to the document can stop you from traveling.
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