tcook052

http://globalnews.ca/news/2089263/lo...nied-boarding/

A Kelowna woman who lost her passport aboard an Air Canada flight thought she would have no problem getting back home. But the assurances of the airline turned out to be anything but reliable.

FlyerTalker683455

This kind of buck passing in air canada is nothing surprising. Have had it happened to me on something silly as eUP credits removed and then promised to be returned only to be stonewalled with nothing happening.

pewpew

I'm sympathetic to this traveler, and I will preemptively argue against the expected "you shouldn't expect to fly if you don't have your passport" by pointing out:

Certainly, we know that we should have gone to an embassy to get the passport replaced. I fly the PHL-YYZ route often enough, and it's all UA (sCO) contract staff so far as I can tell. I'm not sure where I was going with that, but now you know.

Out of curiosity: isn't there some waiver a pax would be able to sign, allowing the airline to go after them for the costs of the deportation back to their origin? As a citizen of Canada, you can't be denied entry, so it's a bit silly to require a passport for flights US->CA.

Often1

Departing the US by air requires a passport. Period.

That is not so for land crossings and, of course, neither Canada nor the US, can lawfully deny one of their citizens entry, even without documents.

There is no necessity for a signed waiver. Had AC been fined, it would have been able to collect against the woman.

The original AC agents provided the woman incorrect information. They should have told her that she needed a passport replacing document (temporary document) which can be issued by any Canadian consulate. But, it sounds as though AC did the correct thing in honoring the incorrect commitments made by its employees.

ffsim

Maybe, maybe not. A friend of mine had her passport stolen at CDG while she was walking to the check-in counter. She was told to obtain a police report and was not only able to successfully check-in at the AC counter, but clear Schengen exit passport control, board her flight and satisfy CBSA once back at YUL.

As pewpew pointed out, the information the woman received was sufficiently clear and detailed that it was entirely reasonable for her to take it at face value.

drvannostren

I guess it's because they get these kind of calls all the time, but had this been me, I would never have even called the airline. I would've called a government agency first.

For me, AC should never be answering this question UNLESS, they have the passport and can potentially get it to her in Philly.

I have the same problem though when FAs trying to be helpful give information on the plane, only for you to arrive and find out from the agents on the ground the FAs were totally wrong.

The other thing at play I think is the UA staff like pewpew said, they abide by AC company policies, likely wear the uniform and have some kind of AC training, but they likely followed the policy of UA. They probably should've phone AC themselves and asked, but didn't. So yes, it's buck passing, but I can see why they're kinda doing that.

In the end...don't lose your passport. I'm not perfect, but I know where that passport is all the time. She even said "I got up in the morning to put it in the safe". So you're concerned enough about hotel security to put it in a safe, but you're not concerned about it enough to check the seat pocket before you leave the aircraft?

Shareholder

Not quite true. While the US requires a passport even from Americans to re-enter, Canada only requires government proof of residence, including a driver's license. Airlines now accept NEXUS cards in place of passports when boarding flights to Canada in the US but do insist (incorrectly) on either a passport or NEXUS card. Flying from any other country to Canada, however, does require a valid Canadian passport from Canadian citizens.

ffsim

The most astonishing part of this story isn't that someone lost their passport or was given incorrect / contradictory information from an airline, but that someone would actually place their passport in a seat back pocket.

When I'm on a plane, my passport is on my person. Always. Not in my bag, not in the bin, not nearby. On me.

Wpgjetse

What does eupgrades have to do with passports. Also, the TSA will not let anyone through Security without proper ID. Airlines have no say on airport security.

Wpgjetse

TSA requires proper ID to get though security. If she did not have proper ID, she could not even get to the gate.

drvannostren

That's exactly what I meant mine is on me too, thanks to my trust Bellroy wallet!

I agree with the TSA statements, I thought that's where this video was going to go, but not knowing the TSA rules I didn't wanna pipe up about it. If AC had checked her in, they still aren't the ones who decide these things, she'd still have to get past TSA.

Answer me this you season travelers, would TSA accept a Canadian drivers license for passage between two US cities? It's still legal ID, but does it qualify?

I had a situation that wasn't far off of this. Early morning golf game in the USA, driving across my whole focus was "don't forget your clubs stupid". Forgot my passport...didn't have the Bellroy then!

Got to the border, I had my SIN, Birth Cert, Drivers License, Credit cards, Gym membership I had everything BUT my passport, and I don't have nexus. I simply asked "do I have enough combinations here to get me in?". He said no, that I'd have to turn around and go back, ok no big deal it's just a round of golf, I asked where it was cuz I'd never been turned back, he said "you can't miss it"...I missed it lol. I don't know if it wasn't signed well, or if I just went my usual way out of habit. Next thing I know I'm on the I-5 and looking for a turn off. If you know the I-5 there isn't a turnoff for a little while, I think it's Lynden, maybe there's one before that, but if you don't go to the gas stations just across the border, you have to go a ways before you can turn around. I noticed no one chasing me...so I figured, well s**t I already screwed up, I might as well go to my golf game. Got back to the Canadian side, explained the whole story to her and she said "oh yeah we don't care you've got plenty of documentation for me".

Lesson is...just carry that damn passport haha.

lcohen999

How did we ever get by in the pre-Belroy days!

vernonc

To answer your question, a Canadian driving licence is valid for a flight between 2 US cities. I have used it before.

This AC story is not just limited to AC. I had a friend who had expired Canadian documents (PR card and he had applied for a new one which took a few months) and he went to the US with a US visa. Airline would not let him board a flight back to Canada and he flew to Buffalo instead and drove across the border where he had no issues. US airports will not let you board without a passport. And even Nexus which is now allowed for air travel between US and Canada (without a passport, and select airports) is still not accepted by airline staff unless you want to spend 20 mins arguing with them.

vernonc

On a recent flight to NRT, on arrival in NRT a passenger was in a tizzy as she had her passport inadvertently mixed up with newspapers she was reading. She handed the newspapers over as trash before landing and only noticed the passport was missing when about to leave the plane. Last I saw the crew was emptying out newspapers from the garbage.

drvannostren

These are good lessons thanks. I've got to get Russian (and probably) Chinese visas, but both are saying you can't request greater than 90 days in advance, I have very limited windows I can give up my passport, but these are all valuable lessons

At least they separate that newspaper trash from the rest of it. That could've been a big gross mess.