Originally Posted by
enviroian
x1000. Sorry, you weren't prepared.
No. Way. No common traveler is expected to have this preparation or knowledge if it is not expected of them. They bought a ticket to Phillipines, not China.
I had a similar experience flying within Schengen. I was denied boarding due to lack of Passport. I went to official government / EU / Schengen websites, but the gate agent steadfastly refused to accept or even *acknowledge* it. [She later grudgingly allowed boarding after clarifying with "management", and the airline issued apologies weeks afterwards].
No printed " proof" would have sufficed in that situation
Sorry about your situation. UA was wrong. They should make it right.