Originally Posted by
r2d2
If you do self-service check-in, nobody will check your visa before the gate. Even bags can be left without a visa check at the self-service bag drop.
TSA is stringent here and self-service bag drop is not available for flights to the US.
Can you do self-service check in when traveling to a country and with a passport that requires a visa? I haven't gone to Mainland China with AY, but with AA I can't check in online when going to China on a US passport.
Also, what would prompt a gate agent to check for a visa on a HEL-LHR flight—and whatever that alert is, why doesn't it come up when the passenger tries to check in, even if online? I would guess that the majority, if not most, passengers on a regular HEL-LHR flight do not require a visa to get on the plane. Any passengers connecting from a country that would require a visa should have had their visas checked at their point of origin, no? And how many people originating in HEL need a visa to enter or transit the UK?