Dad just got flew to Portugal on someone elses passport!
Discussion
My Dad is getting old. So old, in fact, that while packing to go to Portugal last Friday, he managed to pick up my brothers passport instead of his own.
So he flew from East Midlands to Faro, and only realised that he had taken the wrong one when he sat down on the plane! He is 56, my brother is 24. They don't look alike.
This means that he went through check in, passport control and boarding, all with someone elses passport. He then managed to get through the passport checks in Faro with no problems either.
My mum just sent his real passport over recorded delivery for his return home, but I am astounded that not one person throughout the chain picked up on this!
When he return he is going to try coming into the country on my brothers passport (with his real one readily available) and will consider going to the papers. This shouldn't have happened, and even though it was HIS mistake, he is appalled that he got through.
So he flew from East Midlands to Faro, and only realised that he had taken the wrong one when he sat down on the plane! He is 56, my brother is 24. They don't look alike.
This means that he went through check in, passport control and boarding, all with someone elses passport. He then managed to get through the passport checks in Faro with no problems either.
My mum just sent his real passport over recorded delivery for his return home, but I am astounded that not one person throughout the chain picked up on this!
When he return he is going to try coming into the country on my brothers passport (with his real one readily available) and will consider going to the papers. This shouldn't have happened, and even though it was HIS mistake, he is appalled that he got through.
Is it really that bad ?
The passport checker must see thousands of people a day, it's foolish to think they will check every single passport and I don't think it's a huge problem if they don't. Personally I would rather have quicker check-in / departure queues than some little nazi who is methodically checking every single passport because he has had it drilled into him by his wackjob government that every man and his dog is a terrorist.
The passport checker must see thousands of people a day, it's foolish to think they will check every single passport and I don't think it's a huge problem if they don't. Personally I would rather have quicker check-in / departure queues than some little nazi who is methodically checking every single passport because he has had it drilled into him by his wackjob government that every man and his dog is a terrorist.
Edited by him_over_there on Tuesday 31st March 15:29
Well in these times when you can't take a bottle of water onto a plane, and you have your shoes scanned by an X-Ray machine, you'd think that they would be taking passport control much more seriously!
Surely when things like this happen it makes a mockery of all the increased 'security' that makes flying such a chore these days?
Surely when things like this happen it makes a mockery of all the increased 'security' that makes flying such a chore these days?
ol said:
Well in these times when you can't take a bottle of water onto a plane, and you have your shoes scanned by an X-Ray machine, you'd think that they would be taking passport control much more seriously!
Surely when things like this happen it makes a mockery of all the increased 'security' that makes flying such a chore these days?
Yes, and you want to make it worse. Any sane person knows that all airport security is, to quote a Bruce Schneier phrase, security theatre. They have to be seen to be doing something, even if that something is a pointless waste of time / money and energy.Surely when things like this happen it makes a mockery of all the increased 'security' that makes flying such a chore these days?
Why kick up a fuss when things do go smoothly especially when the chance of anything bad happening are so small. Like I said I don't expect staff to rigorously check every passport. Hell, maybe they were using some common sense, saw your dear old dad and made a judgment that he posed no threat. A judgment that in this case was obviously spot on the money
Edited by him_over_there on Tuesday 31st March 15:43
OK, I see what you're getting at; I don't fly very often (once or twice a year) and this is mainly because of the relatively recent increase in hassle involved.
Incidents like this just make the whole increased security measures look like a complete waste of time and money, and that gets my goat.
Incidents like this just make the whole increased security measures look like a complete waste of time and money, and that gets my goat.
I'm dubious about this.
A year or so ago, my Dad was going to the USA with some other family. When he checked in, he was refused a boarding pass because.....
His Ticket was booked in the name Frank, but his passport said Francis. According to the staff at a rather large airline, it was not an accepatable abreviation of a name.
He then had to go and repurchase another ticket for the flight (at a greatly increased cost of course)
So unless your brother and father share the same name, either he was very lucky, or the airport staff were asleep
A year or so ago, my Dad was going to the USA with some other family. When he checked in, he was refused a boarding pass because.....
His Ticket was booked in the name Frank, but his passport said Francis. According to the staff at a rather large airline, it was not an accepatable abreviation of a name.
He then had to go and repurchase another ticket for the flight (at a greatly increased cost of course)
So unless your brother and father share the same name, either he was very lucky, or the airport staff were asleep
beanbag said:
I didn't think a passport was needed to travel into the EU?
Although I always carry mine, I don't think I've shown it to anyone within the EU for about 3 years now!
Its not required for travel WITHIN the Schengen Area ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area) between those countries who signed the Schengen Agreement, which we are not part of!Although I always carry mine, I don't think I've shown it to anyone within the EU for about 3 years now!
Edited by shakotan on Tuesday 31st March 16:08
Edited by shakotan on Tuesday 31st March 16:10
Superhoop said:
I'm dubious about this.
A year or so ago, my Dad was going to the USA with some other family. When he checked in, he was refused a boarding pass because.....
His Ticket was booked in the name Frank, but his passport said Francis. According to the staff at a rather large airline, it was not an accepatable abreviation of a name.
He then had to go and repurchase another ticket for the flight (at a greatly increased cost of course)
So unless your brother and father share the same name, either he was very lucky, or the airport staff were asleep
They have very different names. This is, in essence, why I'm so surprised that he got there! We have had incidents similar to the one you mentioned - A year or so ago, my Dad was going to the USA with some other family. When he checked in, he was refused a boarding pass because.....
His Ticket was booked in the name Frank, but his passport said Francis. According to the staff at a rather large airline, it was not an accepatable abreviation of a name.
He then had to go and repurchase another ticket for the flight (at a greatly increased cost of course)
So unless your brother and father share the same name, either he was very lucky, or the airport staff were asleep
My girlfriends surname is Greek, and you can spell it in the masculine or feminine way. Her birth certificate and bank cards spell it one way, and her passport spells it another way (ou / os on the end). She has been turned away and had to re-book flights due to her name being spelt differently a couple of times.
Superhoop said:
I'm dubious about this.
A year or so ago, my Dad was going to the USA with some other family. When he checked in, he was refused a boarding pass because.....
His Ticket was booked in the name Frank, but his passport said Francis. According to the staff at a rather large airline, it was not an accepatable abreviation of a name.
He then had to go and repurchase another ticket for the flight (at a greatly increased cost of course)
So unless your brother and father share the same name, either he was very lucky, or the airport staff were asleep
It can happen. I believe GingerPaul ended up in the US once with an expired passport.A year or so ago, my Dad was going to the USA with some other family. When he checked in, he was refused a boarding pass because.....
His Ticket was booked in the name Frank, but his passport said Francis. According to the staff at a rather large airline, it was not an accepatable abreviation of a name.
He then had to go and repurchase another ticket for the flight (at a greatly increased cost of course)
So unless your brother and father share the same name, either he was very lucky, or the airport staff were asleep
shakotan said:
beanbag said:
I didn't think a passport was needed to travel into the EU?
Although I always carry mine, I don't think I've shown it to anyone within the EU for about 3 years now!
Its not required for travel WITHIN the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area" Target="_blank">Schengen Area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenge... between those countries who signed the Schengen Agreement, which we are not part of!Although I always carry mine, I don't think I've shown it to anyone within the EU for about 3 years now!
Edited by shakotan on Tuesday 31st March 16:08
beanbag said:
I didn't think a passport was needed to travel into the EU?
Although I always carry mine, I don't think I've shown it to anyone within the EU for about 3 years now!
There are 2 types of passport control in the EU - Schengen and non-Schengen. Schengen countries are by and large the continental countries, and no passport control is in place.Although I always carry mine, I don't think I've shown it to anyone within the EU for about 3 years now!
For those of us outside of Schengen (UK and Ireland) - you do need a passport.
Norway, Iceland and Switzerland are also part of Schengen - Norway and Iceland are members so they could preserve the Nordic Passport Union which existed prior to Schengen.
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