Made any travel mistakes lately?

[jch]

Yes, I think it's time to invest in one of these!

I can take comfort in knowing that I'm not the only person to have ever done this. While I was at the airport police office, I noticed that they had a list of around a dozen passports that had been handed in to them and had not yet been collected.

Edit: I have now ordered one of the Bellroy travel wallets.

I had a very similar habit of misplacing passports until I also got a travel wallet. A lot bulkier and harder to forget, but still need to force my self to put the passport back in the wallet and not in my back pocket after clearing customs! Now also making sure the wallet and passport are in my bag before take-off.

 

[juliusg]

True story: NYE 2013 booked Launceston (of all places) with girlfriend who conveniently dumped me day before departure. Hopped on RSVP and arranged an online date for the night. All went swimmingly well until we tried to get a taxi back to my hotel and her home (gallantry, I considered the obvious option but - anyhow....) and we are stuck down at the river waiting the impossible wait. 'I am sober enough to drive', says new friend, so I chuck her the keys to the Hertz. Wake up very early, very hungover, and check out to drive to the airport..... WHAT HAVE I DONE?!! Where is the Hertz? Why does my head Hertz so much??!!

Phone rings, new girl bright and cheery. 'You told me you had an early flight, I'm outside!'

What a gem! Got her to drive me to the airport, then had her return the car, and gave her $50 for a taxi home. She emailed me the next day offering to come to Sydney to 'look after me' as I had an operation coming up. She was almost right for me - of all things, she had been a shearer so her hands were as soft as her full lips (!) Ahh, country women. But I digress.

I was amazed at my own delinquency, her honesty, and touched that she liked me. I was 56 years old at the time.

 

[Oliver Brown]

Soon we will get a nice implant from .gov and we wont have to worry about anything.

 

[mrsterryn]

I had to really search to find the second fortnight’s prescription medication. If I had lost it I am not sure how easy it would be to get it replaced in Los Angeles. I found it fortunately as I emptied my suitcase while I was jet lagged. Cutting pills in half doesn’t always work out too well but that would be planB.

So grateful I did this particular mistake in London. I didn't have two of my pills and wasnt due back to Sydney for 5 days.
Rang the NHS and was advised I would be fine but apparently they would have been able to issue a script for the balance of my trip

 

[cove]

We have been watching the drug adverts on tv in Los Angeles and when I told Mrscove that I was taking that one it was after she had commented about the possible side effects none of which I was experiencing. I think it could be rather expensive to try to get scripts for my meds if I ran out for a fortnight by losing a bag in transit or leaving a 14 day pack at home. I now tend to keep it all in my carry on bag that has our passports.

 

[justinbrett]

I feel you... I have left my passports on planes before (yes, plural). I’m now cured.

The solution is have a pocket in your carryon where your passport lives. It’s either in there, or in your hands (actively being used). Once your done it goes back to its home. Never ever put it down, put it in the seat pocket, or even put it elsewhere in your luggage.

 

[jch]

Samsonite backpacks are good for this

 

[fr.stephen]

Left my reading glasses in the seat pocket on an Emirates A380 in Dubai.
The glasses were only a few months old, and I was on my way to VIE to make a presentation which I needed to be able to see to do so.

I always check the pockets, but wasn't specifically looking for them, and didn't see them - so they got left there.

Didn't realise until I had gone through security for my transfer.
The security agents let me walk back through security (the wrong way), and amazingly I somehow remembered what gate the aircraft was at.
The crew let me back on.
I looked in the pocket - nothing. I stuck my hand in, ALL the way down the bottom - there they were - disaster averted!

 

[Mattg]

Left my reading glasses in the seat pocket on an Emirates A380 in Dubai.
The glasses were only a few months old, and I was on my way to VIE to make a presentation which I needed to be able to see to do so.

I always check the pockets, but wasn't specifically looking for them, and didn't see them - so they got left there.

Didn't realise until I had gone through security for my transfer.
The security agents let me walk back through security (the wrong way), and amazingly I somehow remembered what gate the aircraft was at.
The crew let me back on.
I looked in the pocket - nothing. I stuck my hand in, ALL the way down the bottom - there they were - disaster averted!

I'm amazed they let you back onto the aircraft. I've seen airline employees flat out refuse these types of requests on multiple occasions. Well done for getting your glasses back though!

 

[jch]

I realised I left a carry bag on board as soon as I stepped off the aircraft, and one of the air crew had to grab it for me due to the same rule of not allowed to re-enter.

 

[travelnutjohn]

Today I made quite possibly the dumbest travel mistake I've ever made. I left my passport on the plane (in the seat pocket) after a CDG-AMS flight and went home. By the time I realised, I'd already been home for an hour and the plane was already operating another flight.

I tried calling KLM and the phone line would cut out if you selected the "lost items" option. I then tried getting in touch via social media and they were slow to respond. So I just went back to the airport, hoping for the best.

When I got back to AMS, nobody knew anything about my passport. It had not been handed in. By this time the operating aircraft was almost back in Amsterdam after operating a flight to Austria, so I asked the Lost & Found team if they'd take a look on the plane when it arrived. They did and the search turned up nothing. By this point I was getting pretty desperate and they reluctantly agreed to search one more time before the plane left AMS again on another flight. This time, sure enough, my passport was found in the seat pocket where I'd left it! By this point the plane was already pushing back for the next flight though with all the doors closed, so the pilot opened the coughpit window and threw my passport out to the ground crew. I was reunited with it shortly after. What a relief!

This was totally my fault, I was tired and simply forgot about my passport when I got off the plane. I don't think I'll be making that mistake again!

What a legend of a pilot!!!!

 

[Warks]

And I thought I'd stuffed up a week or so back when I left my jumper on my seat after arriving in Townsville! I was about to leave in a rental car when I remembered it. Ran back inside just as my plane was about to board for its return to BNE. Managed to get the attention of a ground staff member and she went back down the ramp, returning with it minutes later. Relieved, but it was only a jumper so I'd hate to have gone through that with my passport.

I did once forget my car keys after going through security in SYD but went to lost property on my return and got them. Guy pulled out a week's worth of keys and piled them on the desk. There were a LOT of keys. He said most were never claimed.

 

[amaroo]

I've left duty free, laptops, cameras, iPads on board.... I've even left luggage on the conveyor belt. So far I've haven't actually lost anything..... not bad for 900 odd flights.

 

[RooFlyer]

I left an iPad in the (small) terminal at Belieze City (boarding via walk across apron, and stairs). I was in J and FA noticed me looking for it at my seat in mildly panicked state. I said that I'd left my iPad in the terminal ... guess its gone, oh, well ...

Capt or 2nd Officer was standing in the galley and overheard. Asked me what it looked like. It was readily identifiable, fortunately and I told him where I was charging it, thinking he was going to radio some ground crew.

Nope, he walked off the plane and came back with it 10 mins later . I've forgiven American Airlines just about everything after that.

 

[SOPOOR]

Sort of a travel mistake
Years ago, me and ex gf went to pick up her friend from airport
Was some silly time like a 4am arrival.

Went there, parked, waiting at arrivals, and i realised I couldn't find the flight number.

Realised we were a day early.

Was not happy jan

 

[SOPOOR]

Am surprised so many more people dont forget things in the seat pouch.

You need your passport and pass to fill put the forms, and you're tired, half asleep, grumpy

Very easy to forget your stuff there
Maybe its more of a Y problem?

 

[Nank]

Last year whilst on our way to Europe for a school physics trip, having already lost one kid at Tulla due to visa issues (though he joined us in GVA a bit later), one of the students from our other campus who was sitting near me on EK407 forgot his passport in his seatback pocket as well. By this point we were in another terminal at the gate for EK1 to LHR and boarding was about to close. Not the best time for a bit of a James May style "Oh cough" moment but between the organising teacher's panic and arguing with the gate agent I got in front of her, gave the agent our last flights number and aircraft rego and told them to search the students seat and the surrounding area. Off they went and the rest of us were herded on in the meantime whilst the last kid waited at the gate with another teacher in case they had to stay behind. The groundies kept the front cargo door open ready to unload any bags if the passport wasn't found so we were relived when we saw it closing on the tailcam and realised all must've been good. Ended up with another similar scare later in the trip (also at DXB on our way home) but luckily it was found at a currency exchange booth. Can't some of these kids learn to put their passport in their bags and not remove it from there until you get to the gate or immigration!

 

[sietes]

I left my passport in the hotel safe in Milan after checking our. Was more than half way to the airport when i realised and had to get the driver to return to the hotel to retrieve it.

Easily still made my flight as the driver was not concerned with speed limits.

I keep my passport in a travel wallet these days.

 

[get me outta here]

Great experience, and now for the follow up ... ?

True story: NYE 2013 booked Launceston (of all places) with girlfriend who conveniently dumped me day before departure. Hopped on RSVP and arranged an online date for the night. All went swimmingly well until we tried to get a taxi back to my hotel and her home (gallantry, I considered the obvious option but - anyhow....) and we are stuck down at the river waiting the impossible wait. 'I am sober enough to drive', says new friend, so I chuck her the keys to the Hertz. Wake up very early, very hungover, and check out to drive to the airport..... WHAT HAVE I DONE?!! Where is the Hertz? Why does my head Hertz so much??!!

Phone rings, new girl bright and cheery. 'You told me you had an early flight, I'm outside!'

What a gem! Got her to drive me to the airport, then had her return the car, and gave her $50 for a taxi home. She emailed me the next day offering to come to Sydney to 'look after me' as I had an operation coming up. She was almost right for me - of all things, she had been a shearer so her hands were as soft as her full lips (!) Ahh, country women. But I digress.

I was amazed at my own delinquency, her honesty, and touched that she liked me. I was 56 years old at the time.

 

[Franky]

I left my passport in the hotel safe in Milan after checking our. Was more than half way to the airport when i realised and had to get the driver to return to the hotel to retrieve it.

Easily still made my flight as the driver was not concerned with speed limits.

I keep my passport in a travel wallet these days.

Someone posted a fair while ago doing the same thing, and said ever since, he always puts a shoe in the safe with his passport!