Woman 'close to tears' as she 'can't board flight' due to 'passport error'
A woman was left almost crying as she was told she may not be able to make her journey to Paris as there was something wrong with her passport - but she had no idea there was a problem
A woman was left almost sobbing as she realised she'd made a big passport mistake when she was travelling from Sydney to Paris. Jane Lu was trying to board her flight with a passport she'd recently used on two trips to America when she was told that she may not be able to fly due to there being something wrong with it.
Over the top of the video, she wrote: "Help?! Has anyone ever had this happen?" as she explained the situation to her followers. Jane explained that she couldn't get onto her flight because staff told her her passport was invalid due to "water damage".
"They're saying that I'm flying by China, and they might not let me through, and Paris might not let me through, but I've already flown twice with this passport to the US," she seethed, almost in tears.
She said that because she'd gone to America twice on the passport when it was damaged, she "didn't think it would be a problem".
In a follow-up video, Jane explained that she had to "sign a waiver" that said if she got turned away in Paris, she'd have to make the journey back to Australia, so she was nervous about what would happen, because she had an over-24-hour journey ahead of her.
She said that she hoped they'd be "super chill" as she arrived in Paris, and it turned out they were, as she managed to get in and could complete her business trip successfully.
In the comments, someone wrote: "I think the people at the check-in in Australia are just way too thorough. This happened to my sister. They told her she had to board the flight at her own risk as her passport had a water stain. But when we landed in Singapore, they did not even notice".
Another defended the airport, however, saying "border security is paramount". A woman warned her to "apply for a new passport" and to ensure she "keeps it perfect," rather than allowing it to get water-damaged.
"What I wanna know, how do SO many people get water damage on their passports? Are ya'all taking them for a swim?" someone fumed.
A travel agent shared her advice, penning: "Travel agent here - a passport is a legal document, so, therefore, it must not have any damage. If an airline sends you to a place and you are denied entry, they receive a massive fine.
"Also, you can be detained on arrival for having a damaged passport. Much better to be denied here than to be put in jail or be turned around at the other end. If it's damaged, it needs to be replaced.
"Some countries take this pretty seriously. I had a customer detained when their family went overseas and their kid spilt water on their passport and risked it. It's not about intention, it's about being safe".
According to My British Passport, if a passport is too damaged, then the owner of the passport may not be able to fly. They share that the extent of the damage determines whether it can still be used.
Minor wear and tear might be acceptable, but if the passport cannot be read or the chip is damaged, boarding may be denied.
According to the Post Office, the HM Passport Office classifies a passport as damaged if the following conditions are met: the details are indecipherable, the laminate has lifted enough to allow the possibility of photo substitution and the bio-data page is discoloured.
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Woman 'close to tears' as she 'can't board flight' due to 'passport error'
A woman was left almost crying as she was told she may not be able to make her journey to Paris as there was something wrong with her passport - but she had no idea there was a problem A woman was left almost sobbing as she realised she'd made a big passport mistake when she was travelling from Sydney to Paris. Jane Lu was trying to board her flight with a passport she'd recently used on two trips to America when she was told that she may not be able to fly due to there being something wrong with it. Over the top of the video, she wrote: "Help?! Has anyone ever had this happen?" as she explained the situation to her followers. Jane explained that she couldn't get onto her flight because staff told her her passport was invalid due to "water damage". "They're saying that I'm flying by China, and they might not let me through, and Paris might not let me through, but I've already flown twice with this passport to the US," she seethed, almost in tears. She said that because she'd gone to America twice on the passport when it was damaged, she "didn't think it would be a problem". In a follow-up video, Jane explained that she had to "sign a waiver" that said if she got turned away in Paris, she'd have to make the journey back to Australia, so she was nervous about what would happen, because she had an over-24-hour journey ahead of her. She said that she hoped they'd be "super chill" as she arrived in Paris, and it turned out they were, as she managed to get in and could complete her business trip successfully. In the comments, someone wrote: "I think the people at the check-in in Australia are just way too thorough. This happened to my sister. They told her she had to board the flight at her own risk as her passport had a water stain. But when we landed in Singapore, they did not even notice". Another defended the airport, however, saying "border security is paramount". A woman warned her to "apply for a new passport" and to ensure she "keeps it perfect," rather than allowing it to get water-damaged. "What I wanna know, how do SO many people get water damage on their passports? Are ya'all taking them for a swim?" someone fumed. A travel agent shared her advice, penning: "Travel agent here - a passport is a legal document, so, therefore, it must not have any damage. If an airline sends you to a place and you are denied entry, they receive a massive fine. "Also, you can be detained on arrival for having a damaged passport. Much better to be denied here than to be put in jail or be turned around at the other end. If it's damaged, it needs to be replaced. "Some countries take this pretty seriously. I had a customer detained when their family went overseas and their kid spilt water on their passport and risked it. It's not about intention, it's about being safe". According to My British Passport, if a passport is too damaged, then the owner of the passport may not be able to fly. They share that the extent of the damage determines whether it can still be used. Minor wear and tear might be acceptable, but if the passport cannot be read or the chip is damaged, boarding may be denied. According to the Post Office, the HM Passport Office classifies a passport as damaged if the following conditions are met: the details are indecipherable, the laminate has lifted enough to allow the possibility of photo substitution and the bio-data page is discoloured.
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The listing claims guests will be reimbursed within a week of check-out. 'We're sorry to hear about this guest's experience and we are following up to support their refund,' a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia. 'Our top priority at is to facilitate safe and enjoyable travel experiences for our customers and partners. 'Should travellers need support, our customer service is available for them 24/7 and in 45 languages. Travellers can simply select the booking they have a question about in their account and choose how they want to reach out, for instance via phone or message.' Every accommodation on go through a strict verification process to prevent customers from falling for potentially fraudulent listings. 'We are constantly optimising the robust security measures we have in place to protect our customers and partners, and take the process of verifying accommodation listings extremely seriously,' the spokeswoman said. 'In the very rare instance that there might be some cause for doubt or concern with a specific property we investigate immediately, and where needed close the listing.' Jane and her colleagues had planned to use the space to shoot content for Showpo's homecoming fashion campaign. But things didn't go to plan, as the panicked girls spent the next three hours trying to find a new place to stay. 'We found an Italian restaurant to sit out for three hours trying to sort out with how we're going to deal with this all,' Jess explained. 'But all three of us have Australian numbers so in France, we can't call anyone... All of the numbers go to a French customer representative. 'I'm calling everyone, anyone that's awake, and this is literally the last thing we want to do after a 30-hour flight.' After hours of searching, the group finally checked into a new place to stay. 'It's so nice,' Jess said. Despite falling for the fake accommodation listing, Jane was just grateful to be in Paris - especially after her trip hadn't started off on the right foot. Jane said the work trip had been nothing short of a nightmare - after she nearly missed her flight from Sydney to Paris due to water damage on her passport. She was trying to check in at the airport when she was warned she might not be allowed into Paris because of water damage on her passport. 'I'm at the airport and they're telling me that I can't get onto my flight to Paris because my passport has water damage,' she said. Jane said she was eventually allowed to board the plane, but she had to sign a waiver to 'say that if Paris turns me away, I'll just have to come back'. 'So I signed it, but now I've got this 24 to 28 hour flight journey, and I still might get turned back,' she said. 'So hopefully the French are chill. It's a really long flight to get turned away but I got to try it, right?' 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