Made any travel mistakes lately?

[cove]

Because I don’t fly regularly in first class on Qantas I had trouble trying to fit a UK power plug into the Australian plug hole. The good news is the power supply worked for the whole flight.

 

[bPeteb]

Just returned from a terrific two weeks in Japan. An hour out of Sapporo after nearly seven hours on two trains I suddenly realised we'd left our passports and international drivers licenses back in Tokyo where we'd arrived the night before.

We messaged the friends who checked our carry-on and sent us photos of both as we'd need at least passport photos to check-in to our first hotel. Despite their best efforts there was no way they could get the docs on their way to us on Sunday. No same day delivery between Tokyo and Sapporo. They were sent at 9am Monday. The JPost app showed us they arrived into Sapporo at 8pm Tuesday night. I was at the po first thing next morning and we were on the road by 9:30.

We lost a day of car hire, a night in Abashiri, had to stay an extra night in Sapporo and had a very long day of driving from Sapporo to Kushiro but it was all part of the experience. Still deciding if I'll bother trying to make a claim on insurance.

 

[VPS]

Just returned from a terrific two weeks in Japan. An hour out of Sapporo after nearly seven hours on two trains I suddenly realised we'd left our passports and international drivers licenses back in Tokyo where we'd arrived the night before.

We messaged the friends who checked our carry-on and sent us photos of both as we'd need at least passport photos to check-in to our first hotel. Despite their best efforts there was no way they could get the docs on their way to us on Sunday. No same day delivery between Tokyo and Sapporo. They were sent at 9am Monday. The JPost app showed us they arrived into Sapporo at 8pm Tuesday night. I was at the po first thing next morning and we were on the road by 9:30.

We lost a day of car hire, a night in Abashiri, had to stay an extra night in Sapporo and had a very long day of driving from Sapporo to Kushiro but it was all part of the experience. Still deciding if I'll bother trying to make a claim on insurance.

Like agree or informative are not appropriate so may I offer sympathy - but all's well that ends well

 

[Bundy Bear]

Another left passport behind in hotel safe.

Changing hotels from Washington DC to Baltimore about 2 hours travel.

Went to check in at the hotel on Baltimore and asked for passport, oops they were in the safe.

A shuttle to train, then MARC to Washington Union station then, 2 Washington Metro rides, after about 15 minutes at the hotel the assistant manager went to the room with us and got them out of the safe.

4 hours and about $20 out of pocket, it could have been much worse.

 

[dairyfloss]

All these lost passport tales, and I feel the need to share my own embarrassing one from a number of years back; It haunts me still, to this day.

SWMBO and I were in Ireland for a friend's wedding, which was to be held in Kilkenny. We decided to explore a little of IE before the wedding, and began by heading over to the west coast after a few days in Dublin, and toured the ring of Kerry. We stayed in great little place in our base of Kenmare, and then after that we headed east about 2.5 hours for a single night on the south coast Co. Cork, at Ardmore. It was beautiful place and a hotel called the Cliffhouse - just wow; highly recommended.

The next day we were to head up to Kilkenny area for a pre-wedding party for all the o/s guests, and the wedding was on the following day. As we went to leave, we did the usual thing of checking we had everything, and realised the passports were not in the safe. Initially we panicked that they had been stolen, but then SWMBO realised that she might not have ever taken them out of the safe in Kenmare! We gave the hotel a call, and the PIN to the safe to check... and there they were. Same or even next day courier an option? no way José, not in that part of IE (at that time), and so our leisurely drive up to the party near Kilkenny ended up being a 3 hour drive back to Kenmare, followed by another 3.5 hour drive back to Kilkenny. For those of you that have spent time in Ireland, you will know that 6+ hours of driving on Irish roads is not exactly a relaxing way to spend your time!

Never again would we depart a hotel without checking and checking again that the safe had been cleared!

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[coriander]

MeToo.

In 1984 Mrs C (pre-marriage) and I were in Japan. We boarded the Shinkansen in Fukuoka for Tokyo thence by suburban train to Shinjuku and walked to our hotel to realise that our passports and hotel travel vouchers (this is pre-internet) were still in Fukuoka. Luckily(?) we had our JR Rail Passes so whilst I had to attend a conference the next day, Mrs C was on the first Shink of the morning for the 7 hour trip to Fukuoka, ran the kilometre to the hotel.

There the staff were waiting at the front door with our paperwork (and our spare camera they'd found had fallen under the bed) and a bento box all neatly wrapped in paper with a bow because i'd told them there was only 30 minutes between arrival and departure. With much "arigato" and bowing, Mrs C was able to escape amd made it back to the station just as the train doors were closing. So over 1600 km in one day - most of my train enthusiasts friends were most impressed - gee, 14 hours on a Shinkansen.......

 

[Cossie]

Moreover, the is the faint hope that some can learn from other's mistakes ...

Yes, I've binned the waist belt thingy and reverted to my usual arrangement.

 

[JohnM]

Yikes to these passport tales.

My passport does not leave my body.

 

[gapmatt]

I made a mistake of simply assuming that all flights booked via the Qantas website would give me my additional Gold member baggage allowance.

Booked flights from Melbourne to Taipei with a stopover in Sydney. Sydney to Taipei was a China Airlines flight that had a QF code share. Was able to get my additional baggage allowance, but the return trip from Taipei to Melbourne had a stopover in Hong Kong. (TPE to HKG was China Airlines, and HKG to MEL was Cathay. The China Airlines check in counter rep did not allow me to bring additional baggage, and I realised it wasn't a code share flight.

Above flights were booked from the Qantas website as a return trip booking under one booking reference number.

Ended up persuading her to give me 50% off the excess baggage fee.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Yikes to these passport tales.

My passport does not leave my body.

I'm not sure if this is the right spot for this, or if I've already posted this info, or if it's not commonly known by all bar me, but …

+1 lost her passport and upon contacting the AU High Commission with a view to obtaining an emergency passport, was informed that an emergency passport would only be issued in an emergency! Simply losing a passport is not deemed an emergency and normal passport issuance times should be expected.

Passport, luckily was located by hotel staff (it was under the curtains) and was retrieved by backtracking, but it could have meant costly additional expenses and loss of work time otherwise.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'm not sure if this is the right spot for this, or if I've already posted this info, or if it's not commonly known by all bar me, but …

+1 lost her passport and upon contacting the AU High Commission with a view to obtaining an emergency passport, was informed that an emergency passport would only be issued in an emergency! Simply losing a passport is not deemed an emergency and normal passport issuance times should be expected.

Passport, luckily was located by hotel staff (it was under the curtains) and was retrieved by backtracking, but it could have meant costly additional expenses and loss of work time otherwise.

Seems travel must be within 10 days to qualify for an emergency passport. From DFAT's page on the matter:

The issue of Emergency passports must be strictly controlled in line with the following defined circumstances:

• Where an applicant can meet the full requirements but must travel urgently and is therefore unable to wait 10 working days for the issue of a full validity passport;
• Where an applicant can present their most recently issued passport but cannot meet all the requirements for the issue of a full validity passport (due to lack of documentation, a suitable Guarantor etc) and the person must travel urgently and the overseas mission can positively confirm identity, Australian citizenship and entitlement;
• Where the applicant has lost (or had stolen) his/her full validity passport but is travelling and needs to apply for the full validity passport at their final destination (to allow for the 10 working day turnaround time). In such cases the overseas mission must be able to satisfy the applicant’s identity and entitlement. In this situation the applicant MUST attend a personal interview to be issued with either a full validity passport or an Emergency passport

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Seems travel must be within 10 days to qualify for an emergency passport.

Where an applicant can meet the full requirements but must travel urgently and is therefore unable to wait 10 working days for the issue of a full validity passport;

It appears "must travel urgently" may be assessed on a case-by-case basis and subject to scrutiny. Simply having any ticketed travel within 10 working days won't necessarily meet the requirement.

 

[serfty]

So over 1600 km in one day - most of my train enthusiasts friends were most impressed - gee, 14 hours o

Thank goodness for the JR pass - Tokyo to Fukuoka and back on the Shinkensen would be a very expensive standalone purchase. ..

 

[Deleted member 29185]

It appears "must travel urgently" may be assessed on a case-by-case basis and subject to scrutiny. Simply having any ticketed travel within 10 working days won't necessarily meet the requirement.

That was what was conveyed to us. The lady stated emphatically, just being ticketed is not classed as an emergency. It would need further evidence to support the emergency. My wife had said she was required back at work (as a midwife) but that was not classed as an emergency. The hotel finding the passport saved us the extra cost of re-ticketing and extra accommodation etc.

 

[jxv]

Seems travel must be within 10 days to qualify for an emergency passport. From DFAT's page on the matter:

The issue of Emergency passports must be strictly controlled in line with the following defined circumstances:

• Where an applicant can meet the full requirements but must travel urgently and is therefore unable to wait 10 working days for the issue of a full validity passport;
• Where an applicant can present their most recently issued passport but cannot meet all the requirements for the issue of a full validity passport (due to lack of documentation, a suitable Guarantor etc) and the person must travel urgently and the overseas mission can positively confirm identity, Australian citizenship and entitlement;
• Where the applicant has lost (or had stolen) his/her full validity passport but is travelling and needs to apply for the full validity passport at their final destination (to allow for the 10 working day turnaround time). In such cases the overseas mission must be able to satisfy the applicant’s identity and entitlement. In this situation the applicant MUST attend a personal interview to be issued with either a full validity passport or an Emergency passport

A while ago there was a thread about returning to Australia without a passport.

In many cases there is no need to obtain a replacement or emergency passport overseas. The following excerpt from the "Advance Passenger Processing (APP) Arrivals and Departures Manual" issued by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection shows how the passenger should be processed by the check-in agent.

Note: BOC stands for "Border Operation Centre" located in Canberra and APP is the "Advance Passenger Processing" system.


2.8 Travellers without travel documents

In some situations, a traveller may need to travel without a valid travel document, for example, if the travel document is lost or stolen. Some travellers without travel documents are entitled to travel to Australia provided the BOC has granted ‘uplift approval’.

Some passengers without travel documents are entitled to depart Australia to return to their home country provided airline staff received uplift approval to the flight’s country of destination.

2.8.1 Check-in data entry for travellers without travel documents

These travellers need to be processed through APP using full details and with Document type ‘N’. To process an undocumented traveller enter the following:

• Full family name
  
• Given names
  
• Date of birth
  
• Sex
  
• Document Type ‘N’
  

2.8.2 APP response for travellers arriving without travel documents

The APP System gives an 8510 – <CONTACT BOC> response. Once the BOC has given ‘uplift approval’ the check-in agent must resubmit APP and enter a ‘G’ override.

Note: ‘G’ overrides can only be authorised by the BOC.

 

[sausagefingers]

got home from a trip to Vietnam landed 7am ish in Brisbane, got home still feeling productive I showered, emptied my suitcase, did my washing. went to put my passport back to the usual spot and then realised it was in my jeans... in the wash :-(

 

[straitman]

got home from a trip to Vietnam landed 7am ish in Brisbane, got home still feeling productive I showered, emptied my suitcase, did my washing. went to put my passport back to the usual spot and then realised it was in my jeans... in the wash :-(

At least you didn’t drown it overseas like I’ve done. (US & Canadian Immigration laughed but the Australians didn’t see the funny side at all.)

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Tangentially, Home Affairs officer without passport called in help to get on plane - Sydney Morning Herald.

A while ago there was a thread about returning to Australia without a passport.

Fair point - though guess you're out of luck for onward 'non-emergency' travel.

Australian Lost Passport: getting back to Australia [without it]

went to put my passport back to the usual spot and then realised it was in my jeans... in the wash :-(

Ouch. Presumably it didn't come out shiny and new ...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A while ago there was a thread about returning to Australia without a passport.

In many cases there is no need to obtain a replacement or emergency passport overseas. The following excerpt from the "Advance Passenger Processing (APP) Arrivals and Departures Manual" issued by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection shows how the passenger should be processed by the check-in agent.

Yes, this may be an option, but will be easier if the flight home is non-stop without any transit points. Any third countries which are part of a transit might refuse someone without a passport (so LHR-SIN-SYD may be fine for arrival into SYD, but SIN may refuse travel).

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Yes, this may be an option,

Also, one has to get out of the country they're in. I'd hate to think of the hoops to jump through with that one. Just last year I was grilled whilst exiting POM for supposedly having an out of date visa. He was actually looking at my old visa and my new one still had years of validity on it, but it was actually difficult to get him to flick over the pages and look at the correct one … I'd hate to be trying to get out without a passport at all.