Originally Posted by
zhaobao
Another big glitch on Cathay is that for places where you need a visa and the visa happens to be electronic and you just print out the visa, you cannot "scan" the visa into the check-in kiosks at HKIA. Must see an agent to verify the docs before you get your boarding pass and having bag tags printed.
I just encountered this hitch at Heathrow as well, despite successfully entering my HKID/visa expiration as described above. The check-in machines (and the ones at Heathrow T3 are not just for CX but a number of airlines including Qantas) seem to read visas and ask for a visa to read to confirm but only the kind that seem to be accepted are big stickers in passports with a similar readable script as passports have. Would not accept the QR on my HK e-visa (which I think only the HK Immigration Department can scan anyway) and certainly not my HKID. I went to the flight management desk and they took care of me without even asking to see a visa or ID card.
As alluded with the machines, it's a problem for other airlines as well. Qatar had some staff with a small standing desk to facilitate at check-in; I think CX may have had this as well at LHR but I circumvented it.