canadiancow

Except Passport Canada's rules allow for AIRLINE denial as a reason for a replacement.

Nothing needs to happen "at the behest of a foreign government".

gabdusch

A very similar situation happened to me last February upon checking in for a trip to AMS. My passport had some water on the photo (I was still very recognizable) which I didn't think twice about until I got the the airport.

Agent at the SE counter (usually very friendly) didn't say a word and immediately ran away with my passport and came back 10 minutes later with a AC Corporate Security officer (I think) who asked me several questions about my past travels, if I knew my passport was damaged, etc. I felt quite under the microscope and after I promised I would replace the passport immediately upon my return the officer agreed to let me continue check in. His main concern was that I might be denied entry in AMS and then the airline is indeed liable for fines etc.

I had to actually apply for a new passport (not renew it) as per CIC's website:

This was quite the hassle requiring original birth certificate, etc, all before my next trip 7 days later, not to mention renewing any multi-year visas I had.

The takeaway here is to treat your passport with extreme care because it's a real pain to get a new one.

1Newflyer

It used to be so simple before. A female friend got hers redone because she did not like the picture a year after it was issued.

yyznomad

I was stopped boarding at SCL once because of a small water stain on my passport. AC contract staff at SCL. After some prolonged questioning, I was allowed to board.

sram

Do most FF's on this forum opt for the 10 year passport? when I renewed last year, I was advised by the passport office to opt for a 5 year due to the likelihood of the pages filling up.

JustSomeGuy1978

In scenario's such as this why doesn't the airline have some sort of document that they can issue to you which you can then take to the passport office as "proof" of denied or potential for denial of entry?

Seems odd that they would simply take your word for it.

RangerNS

I fly weekly, and rarely get a US stamp. There are probably FF's who pop to Europe (er, Schengen) for a month long trip and get one stamp, even if they hit 20 countries.

yyznomad

I had to get new passports twice in a three year span because they all filled to the brim with stamps. None of them had US stamps.

(Of course, there are people here who don't believe this, as usual. How dare I!)

canadiancow

I was stamped in YVR or YYZ recently, entering the US. It's definitely not the norm for me with GE (or I'd have filled up already), but it does happen.

I think I may fill mine up before I hit 10 years, but I don't think I'd do it in 5 years, so it was worth the cost for the 10 year.

fly_yag

I'm 2.5 years into a 10-year passport and only have 4 pages left so when I renew I'm planning on getting a 5-year. I'm still baffled that when the 10-year passports were introduced a few years ago they eliminated the 48 page option....

ACYYZ/SD

I fear running into the same issue. Presumably they can't stamp over existing stamps. The reason for eliminating the 48 page option -- $$$. Somebody obviously did the math.

jc94

On my non NA passport I always get a US stamp and have them overlapping all the time.

They also fade really badly to the point of being unreadable. US and Canada ones really bad for some reason. I have 4-5 Canada ones on half a page and can't make out the month on 2-3 of them. 3 other stamps same page, I can't even tell which country one is from.

I've only got a couple of double pages left.

Most organized country? Russia. They line them up with each other and the page layout. At least the four I have.

xray

Went for the 5 year option this time around. I do a lot of short stops in different countries accounting for the many stamps. As well, the countries which have full page visas account for a lot of real estate.

I'll keep the $40 difference from now on...

RangerNS

You are supposed to return the old passport (even if expired?). If the "user fees" cover costs (and they should), then why would they not give them out on demand (with the return)? "Because I feel like it" would seem to be good enough a reason if they are covering costs.

SparseFlyer

This is one of my biggest pet peeves about airlines.

before departure, no airline staff will comment about any entry requirements. They will always refer you to that country's immigration office or whatever.

But on day of departure, at check in, just like that, out of nowhere, everyone is now an expert at custom's and immigration capable of determining entry.

There are also situations where you call a foreign country immigration service, and will literally tell you "your airline may have stricter requirements".


I can understand the airline doesn't want to take responsibility for misinformation, especially that things can change often, but if they can deny you boarding US-Canada cause your Canadian passport has a water stain, while CBSA would not care one minute especially since you are a Canadian returning home.


It's a mess. And things like Timatic (which I never knew of for the longest time), should made more easily available (IMO), especially if Airlines use it to make entry decisions which could cost you thousands in rebooking fees and lost accomodations.

/rantover