Air Travel to Canada - Passport Less Than Six Months Validity
Jun 4, 2019, 10:47 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: STL
Posts: 88
Air Travel to Canada - Passport Less Than Six Months Validity
Hello All,
I had a work trip to Canada come up for later this month. I'll be going DCA-YYZ-DCA, most likely on AA.
The only concern is that my passport is set to expire in September of this year (so about 2.5 months of validity at time of travel). The Government of Canada only requires that a passport be unexpired upon entry to the country (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...-document.html).
American Airlines on the other hand seems to have a blanket requirement that passports have six months of validity when used for international air travel (https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...nal-travel.jsp).
Does anyone have any idea if AA will enforce six months even though Canada only requires the passport to be valid? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
I had a work trip to Canada come up for later this month. I'll be going DCA-YYZ-DCA, most likely on AA.
The only concern is that my passport is set to expire in September of this year (so about 2.5 months of validity at time of travel). The Government of Canada only requires that a passport be unexpired upon entry to the country (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...-document.html).
American Airlines on the other hand seems to have a blanket requirement that passports have six months of validity when used for international air travel (https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...nal-travel.jsp).
Does anyone have any idea if AA will enforce six months even though Canada only requires the passport to be valid? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Jun 4, 2019, 10:55 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: USA
Programs: Chase Sapphire Reserve, WFBF
Posts: 1,573
The short answer to your question is the agent will look up the passport requirement in TIMATIC (covered in this thread: AA (specific) passport policy / policies (master thread)) and follow whatever the system tells them.
The long answer to your question is: why risk it? Given that you are in DC and can therefore go in person to get your passport renewed, why not just renew it now? A passport with less than 3 months validity is not particularly useful for most international travel.
The long answer to your question is: why risk it? Given that you are in DC and can therefore go in person to get your passport renewed, why not just renew it now? A passport with less than 3 months validity is not particularly useful for most international travel.
Jun 4, 2019, 11:22 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: STL
Posts: 88
Thanks for the information. I was unaware there was a walk up place in DC so I'll definitely look into that.
According to the TIMATIC database I should be ok. I'll probably just expedite renew for peace of mind though.
According to the TIMATIC database I should be ok. I'll probably just expedite renew for peace of mind though.
Jun 4, 2019, 2:03 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold but PlatPro thanks to LPs
Posts: 4,439
I set my iPhone to remind me a year before my passport expires, so I can get a new one at a convenient break in international travel.
ETA: same deal with drivers license, Global Entry, etc.
Jun 4, 2019, 2:07 pm
#6
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: USA
Programs: Chase Sapphire Reserve, WFBF
Posts: 1,573
FYI the same day renewal requires confirmed travel within 2 weeks of the date that you go. You can make an appointment prior to that time but the appointment itself must be within 2 weeks of travel. Otherwise they will tell you to do it by mail.