United EWR Agents not bothering to check outbound passengers for Chinese visas
Just checked in at PVG for 878 to LAX. Before they opened GF for check in they had to handle the deportation paperwork for this poor guy who just came in from EWR w no visa. The police were watching him like public enemy number 1. I thought he was some kind of criminal & made a comment to the CS MGR. He told me the guy had no visa. Said it happens "all the time" on the EWR flight. Told us its a big fine from both the Chinese & American govts yet it still keeps happening. I find it hard to understand why it's so difficult to train agents to check visas. They checked mine 3 times in SFO last week
Not this passenger. They made him use his return portion of his tkt. I asked the same question. If he had no return tkt then UA would have had to pay
He was an American resident but an Indian citizen so I guess that's why no free transit visa. I said to the CS MGR that I could see how that's an easy mistake for an agent to make but be said no. When they put the nationality of the psgr in the computer it tells them the visa rules
Just checked in at PVG for 878 to LAX. Before they opened GF for check in they had to handle the deportation paperwork for this poor guy who just came in from EWR w no visa. The police were watching him like public enemy number 1. I thought he was some kind of criminal & made a comment to the CS MGR. He told me the guy had no visa. Said it happens "all the time" on the EWR flight. Told us its a big fine from both the Chinese & American govts yet it still keeps happening. I find it hard to understand why it's so difficult to train agents to check visas. They checked mine 3 times in SFO last week
The ultimate fault was the passengers, but clearly the airline should check, especially to protect themselves from the fine.
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While Timatic can be difficult to read at times, there's really no excuse for putting a passenger aboard an international flight without proper documentation.
The fine is steep, and can be leveled against the individual agent.
We had a situation once in PWM where we received 3 fines in a week span. One happened to be mine. I can't remember specific details, but it was something about transiting through Canada to Asia. A Canadian visa wasn't required...IF the passenger was connecting on an Asian airline. Otherwise, they needed a transit visa.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaimito Cartero
Yep, plus a fine. I've heard $10k mentioned, but don't know if that applies to China or not.
I'm sure it's a bit confusing, as some Chinese airports have a 24-48 hour transit visa available.
No, it's 24-48 hour transit without visa and one must be genuinely in transit--i.e., going to a third country, not just making a short visit to China. It's not available for all nationalities.
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I have not been checked several times at ORD when going to locations that require visas.
But it has usually been caught at the gate as the BP requires a stamp indicating that the visa was verified at check-in.
So if the poor soul got on a flight for China without a visa, there were two failures on UA's part. The first was at check-in and the second was the GA at boarding.
This is what happens when there is no accountability. If gate agents are awarded for early/on-time departures, they should also be held accountable for failing to check paperwork - especially when thers is a cost to the company.
Funny that I had an opposite issue - agent checked for Chinese visa while none was required.
I was almost denied boarding earlier this year due to the fact I didn't have a visa for China. I was flying to TPE. I suspect the visa check is manual, not automated. In my case, the agent saw TPE and checked visa rules in Timatic for China. In this case, perhaps the check in agent checked Timatic for visa rules for Chinese Taipei?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chinatraderjmr
Not this passenger. They made him use his return portion of his tkt. I asked the same question. If he had no return tkt then UA would have had to pay
He was an American resident but an Indian citizen so I guess that's why no free transit visa. I said to the CS MGR that I could see how that's an easy mistake for an agent to make but be said no. When they put the nationality of the psgr in the computer it tells them the visa rules
I witnessed this at ORD couple days ago. The kiosk system will refuse any passenger without a proper visa to obtain his boarding pass, then if any TWOV rules or visa on arrival apply, the agent will have to swipe his work ID, and the timatic information will pop up at the kiosk, then the agent can clear the passenger or to refuse him to travel.
Simple an agent mistake not to verify the travelers visa.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PWMRamper
While Timatic can be difficult to read at times, there's really no excuse for putting a passenger aboard an international flight without proper documentation.
The fine is steep, and can be leveled against the individual agent.
We had a situation once in PWM where we received 3 fines in a week span. One happened to be mine. I can't remember specific details, but it was something about transiting through Canada to Asia. A Canadian visa wasn't required...IF the passenger was connecting on an Asian airline. Otherwise, they needed a transit visa.
I thought the rule is that if connecting to participating airlines then visa is waived in Vancouver. If in Toronto then connections must be mad between AC flights.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Nov 27, 12 at 7:49 am..
Reason: merge
Just checked in at PVG for 878 to LAX. Before they opened GF for check in they had to handle the deportation paperwork for this poor guy who just came in from EWR w no visa. The police were watching him like public enemy number 1. I thought he was some kind of criminal & made a comment to the CS MGR. He told me the guy had no visa. Said it happens "all the time" on the EWR flight. Told us its a big fine from both the Chinese & American govts yet it still keeps happening. I find it hard to understand why it's so difficult to train agents to check visas. They checked mine 3 times in SFO last week
1) Based on what you've written, you don't know the whole story. Maybe he had a visa that was checked in EWR, but the visa expired, was no longer valid, denied by the PRC for other reasons, etc. Lots of reasons to send him back which may or may not have anything to do with checking his visa. The ultimate decision for entry is up to the country at the entry point, not the airline. So unless you can prove otherwise, this is complete conjecture on your part.
2) I've boarded aircraft in SIN going to DXB on SQ J without a UAE visa (when US passport holders were still required to get one) and allowed to board and deal with it at DXB. I've also boarded a KU flight in CAI in J without a visa for Kuwait and allowed to board and figure it out in KWI. In these two cases I waived the airlines responsibility and was allowed to proceed. Both times I got in after some interesting experiences in Immigration.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Nov 27, 12 at 8:39 am..
Reason: unnecessary
I suspect the visa check is manual, not automated. In my case, the agent saw TPE and checked visa rules in Timatic for China. In this case, perhaps the check in agent checked Timatic for visa rules for Chinese Taipei? 
