Originally Posted by
ashill
Because nearly all passengers who are traveling without proper documentation are doing so accidentally, I’d think. If they catch you at the origin airport (which is, in the vast majority of cases, particularly amongst infrequent travelers who are more likely to err on passport/visa requirement), it’s much less of a hassle in most cases for the passenger to correct the issue, or, if necessary, cancel the trip. So there’s definitely a point to doing the document verification at the origin airport if possible.
Again, in this case, AA could only do a document check, and it would have saved the OP's grandmother a lot of hassle. AA certainly could warn the passenger if her documents don’t seem to be what’s required, but I’m pretty sure that the operating airline will only accept document verification that they’ve done themselves. That is, it’s not ultimately AA's responsibility to verify that the traveler has the proper documents.
At which point the airline would be setting itself up for issues if someone didn't have correct documentation and start holding the airline liable because it didn't warn them
At the moment the airline has a simple position that liability is solely with the passenger and all it is required to do is ensure that no one boards a flight where correct documentation for that flight is not held
It is not reasonable, I think, for AA agents in many small locations with no international flights to be expected to know passport rules for every country