Denied boarding to Jakarta due to 'damaged' passport

[muppet]

Attached scan of 'damaged' page, dark coloured card inserted to show extent of damage on that side. On the other side the small tear is probably half the width of the other, if you get my drift.

I actually believe the tear is longer now given all the examinations the pp has been under of late!

Hmmm that seems so minor and really general wear and tear.

Qantas probably lucky it found that minor tear to weasel out of getting you to your connection.

 

[get me outta here]

Yeah no, I always have a full face of make up after getting off in JFK having arrived via the EU the long way around, albeit in SQ F.

Note to the unwary - ladies that is - always wear full makeup and a red lippy when getting your passport and driver's licence photos taken. Makes a big difference. Another saying - if anyone can recognise you from your passport or licence photo - you're sicker than you thought!

 

[clipped_wings]

Yeah no, I always have a full face of make up after getting off in JFK having arrived via the EU the long way around, albeit in SQ F.

At least you would have enjoyed a personal mirror at your suite! Or, the fabulously gargantuan bathroom on SQ F.

I have to glom it in VA's teeny tiny toilet - the red lippy "scar" I swipe when there's a hint of turbulence makes me look like the Joker from Batman.

 

[Cossie]

Well my travel claim was refused due to their saying that I knew my passport damaged before I took out the policy, which is blatantly untrue. I just spoke to the person handling the case and told her that I wasn't aware it was damaged until it was pointed out to me at the airport, so the claim will be reconsidered.

The more I think about it the more I think that the 40 minute transfer time in Sydney was the major issue, Everyone that has examined said passport has been very surprised as to the kerfuffle.

IMO Qantas are the big loser here. Getting a new passport was a bit of a pain, but I bypassed them and flew Qatar, Canberra to Frankfurt and Helsinki back to Canberra in "J". We will be using this option far more in future.

 

[33kft]

IMO Qantas are the big loser here. Getting a new passport was a bit of a pain, but I bypassed them and flew Qatar, Canberra to Frankfurt and Helsinki back to Canberra in "J". We will be using this option far more in future.

The Indonesian government seems to have escaped any and all recriminations here - well done. In the game of diplomatic chess, that's 1 to the Indonesians and 0 to the Australians.

 

[Cossie]

The Indonesian government seems to have escaped any and all recriminations here - well done. In the game of diplomatic chess, that's 1 to the Indonesians and 0 to the Australians.

Well yes, but as I have stated before I'm even less likely to visit there, regardless of how friendly the locals are!

 

[33kft]

Well yes, but as I have stated before I'm even less likely to visit there, regardless of how friendly the locals are!

It's not the locals, that's nothing to do with it. It's the government, and the longer everyone tries to defend the implementation of vague, disruptive and punitive policies and to push those down to the airlines to enforce, and the more that we blame those who are caught in the middle, the worse the experience will be.

It is not about commenting on the Indonesian people, it's about opposing this poorly implemented policy that has caused so much confusion that airlines are forced to refuse passage to customers on even the most minute concerns around the state of a travel document, regardless of whether it is functionally impacting the travel document. If the officials within the country arbitrarily decide it's not up to snuff, they'll force the airline to fly you home and fine them US$5000 - for what exactly? Would we want this to be the future of international travel?

Man stopped from travelling to Bali from Perth

Holidaymakers heading to Bali may get a nasty surprise at the airport if they have a damaged passport.

www.news.com.au

Unfortunately it’s not clear what level of damage is acceptable. Batik Air appears to be acting cautiously.

The man with the damaged passport was able to travel with his partner through Indonesia AirAsia.

His partner said Batik Air staff told her they had stopped 20 passengers with damaged passports from flying to Bali in the last month.

So one airline in Indonesia says yes, another says no. This is what we can expect when traveling there. Not even the national carriers know what is going on. It's a cough, confusing implementation and they should be called out for it.

 

[Cossie]

Interesting that the article states that you can take your passport to a passport office for assessment. When I phoned them, I was told no, nope, never and nyet. When I picked up the new one I showed the person dealing with me my 'damaged' one and she was very surprised that it had caused an issue.

 

[33kft]

Well, perhaps the passport office doesn't really see fit to implement Indonesia's arbitrary assessment either. Perhaps the Indonesian Government should set up a shopfront and decide if they'll extort money from your airline in your particular case or not? That would affect revenue though, so on the other hand, maybe not?

 

[Quickstatus]

Any chance of a de-identified photo demonstrating the “damage”?

 

[Cossie]

Any chance of a de-identified photo demonstrating the “damage”?

Posted one earlier in the thread, 'ere tis again.

 

[Quickstatus]

Looks better than mine

 

[Cossie]

Good news, after speaking with them last week, they have agreed to payout my non refundable items. Not a huge amount, but it all helps and I'd be happy to recommend them. Obviously is does not includeg the cost of the new passport and also less an excess fee.

This is only the second claim I have made, the first was back in 1979 after my bag was snatched in Essaouira, Morocco in 1979, and no, I wasn't off my face!

 

[karen blancfield]

Good news, after speaking with them last week, they have agreed to payout my non refundable items. Not a huge amount, but it all helps and I'd be happy to recommend them. Obviously is does not includeg the cost of the new passport and also less an excess fee.

This is only the second claim I have made, the first was back in 1979 after my bag was snatched in Essaouira, Morocco in 1979, and no, I wasn't off my face!

Remind us who your travel insurance is with? You don’t just go with credit card cover? We were returned from South America through ours and within a year, covered to resume trip in USA so we can only speak highly of our experience.

 

[Cossie]

Remind us who your travel insurance is with? You don’t just go with credit card cover? We were returned from South America through ours and within a year, covered to resume trip in USA so we can only speak highly of our experience.

Woolies, haven't had to use credit card insurance for anything, not even for a warranty claim, "I like to be sure, to be sure", so I'm happy to have separate travel insurance.

Claiming off a cc seems be be too hard for me, plus my main card is an amex and when my wife travels by herself she isn't covered as hers is a supplementary card, so we need a policy for her anyway.

 

[karen blancfield]

Woolies, haven't had to use credit card insurance for anything, not even for a warranty claim, "I like to be sure, to be sure", so I'm happy to have separate travel insurance.

Claiming off a cc seems be be too hard for me, plus my main card is an amex and when my wife travels by herself she isn't covered as hers is a supplementary card, so we need a policy for her anyway

Ok. We have two cc, with supplementary alternated so we can get round that problem. ANZ platinum and Citibank, one in each name. Having had such a good experience, we are comfortable continuing to rely on cc, and hopefully won’t ever need again!

 

[nlagalle]

Woolies, haven't had to use credit card insurance for anything, not even for a warranty claim, "I like to be sure, to be sure", so I'm happy to have separate travel insurance.

Claiming off a cc seems be be too hard for me, plus my main card is an amex and when my wife travels by herself she isn't covered as hers is a supplementary card, so we need a policy for her anyway.

A bit OT but which AMEX card do you have? I have the Platinum Charge and the insurance for the supp cards holders works if the travel is booked on their card.

 

[RooFlyer]

Another example, someone with a bit of a profile:

NoCookies | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au

May be paywalled:

Matildas’ captain Sam Kerr has been refused entry to a Jetstar flight from Perth to Bali because her passport was deemed to be damaged.
The star striker who recently signed a lucrative contract with English heavyweights Chelsea tweeted a picture of her passport, with the comment “what a joke, Jetstar won’t let me travel due to a damaged passport”.

The picture revealed a tiny tear at the top of the photo page.

Airlines flying into Bali have become more vigilant about passports since Indonesian authorities began enforcing fines of more than $7000 on carriers for bringing people into the country with damaged passports.

An interesting comment on the last line:

A Jetstar spokeswoman said their crew did not like to be the bearer of bad news but they had to enforce the immigration requirements of the countries they flew to.

“Some countries are more strict than others on this and won’t let you enter the country with a damaged passport,” said the spokeswoman.

On Twitter, Jetstar has reached out to Kerr, offering to “look into it for her”.

 

[33kft]

At least they (gently) called out where the enforcement pressure was coming from. I don't care whether airlines have to cop the brunt, I just hate seeing such blatant diplomatic posturing going unnoticed and frankly rewarded by having people take the bait (and blame the airlines in their home country for coughty vague overbearing policy enforced elsewhere).

If people don't think that policies like this aren't used maliciously, they haven't traveled out to Indonesia enough. I have witnessed the march of (mainly Chinese) visitors off to the ATMs to withdraw $100 USD in CGK many a time, some of them being colleagues or acquaintances of mine, and I know how the game goes. At the border, you're theirs, have a listen to an audiobook called "Snowing in Bali" if you want to get a feel for how Indonesian borders are policed.

Whilst it may be some comfort that the airlines are policing this pre-immigration, the fact is that once you are on their side of the fence, you're going to be denied entry with a massive fine levied to the airline. It's not a good thing to be denied entry to foreign countries, this should be a signal to people to travel there at their peril. At least if the airline stops you, you save yourself losing a day and getting a big red stamp in your passport.

 

[DC3]

At least they (gently) called out where the enforcement pressure was coming from. I don't care whether airlines have to cop the brunt, I just hate seeing such blatant diplomatic posturing going unnoticed and frankly rewarded by having people take the bait (and blame the airlines in their home country for coughty vague overbearing policy enforced elsewhere) ...

Yes, people wanting to blame the airline, Jetstar in an above example.

While planning my trip to Bali, the issue of torn/damaged passports jumped out at me from articles that I had read.