passport left on plane
Jun 27, 2017, 5:35 pm
#16
Join Date: Aug 2016
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 38
oh - and no you can't go back by the way - once you are in the 'arrivals' process you are considered what we call 'dirty' (don't take offence - it only refers to the security process) clean means you have gone through security and can be airside.
Jun 27, 2017, 5:37 pm
#17
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: New York
Posts: 96
I left my passport in the seat pocket on a flight into Thailand and did not know that I had lost it until I tried to board a plane out of the country to Australia a week later. I was not permitted to board. After pleading, to no avail, I asked a manager to call the Australian embassy, which he did. I got lucky, as the Australian embassy issued an official letter authorizing me to board the plane. When I arrived in Sydney, I went straight to the American embassy which issued a new, one-year, temporary passport. My original passport was never located.
Jun 27, 2017, 6:31 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: MIA
Programs: AAdvantage Exec Plat SPG Platinum
Posts: 308
I left my passport in the seat pocket on a flight into Thailand and did not know that I had lost it until I tried to board a plane out of the country to Australia a week later. I was not permitted to board. After pleading, to no avail, I asked a manager to call the Australian embassy, which he did. I got lucky, as the Australian embassy issued an official letter authorizing me to board the plane. When I arrived in Sydney, I went straight to the American embassy which issued a new, one-year, temporary passport. My original passport was never located.
Jun 27, 2017, 7:55 pm
#20
Join Date: Jul 2006
Programs: BA something, Luftwaffe SEN, CX Gold, Pilsbury Doughboy Fanclub, and lots of Amex cards
Posts: 1,906
They have the discretion to bend the rules - having proof of imminent travel helps.
Make an appointment for a 4hr same day replacement - do not mention lost - and plead your case when there. Worst case, they say no. Best case, you have it in four hours.
Source: personal experience.
Jun 27, 2017, 7:56 pm
#21
Join Date: May 2016
Programs: BAEC - Gold, IHG - Spire Ambassador
Posts: 575
I was mugged in Chicago at Easter. My bag with our three UK passports was snatched. Visited the consulate the following day where emergency travel documents were issued. Simple process, panic over.
Jun 27, 2017, 10:36 pm
#22
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beijing
Programs: SK EBG, BAEC Gold
Posts: 932
One of my friends was also able a couple of years ago to get a replacement passport "same day" when he realized his old one was missing at the last minute before a trip, so this route is worth trying despite the official stance.
It sounds in any case as though there is no chance now to get back the old one - even if it was found on the plane and handed to the immigration authorities.
Jun 27, 2017, 10:37 pm
#23
In Memoriam
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: North
Programs: BA Silver; IHG Gold Elite; Hilton Gold
Posts: 382
Ever since reading about the BA plane fire at Vegas requiring evacuation, I've made a point of keeping my passport on my person whenever flying. No seat pocket storage, no hand luggage storage. In my own pocket.
My life extending medication now joins it there.
My life extending medication now joins it there.
Jun 27, 2017, 10:47 pm
#24
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ARN
Programs: SK EBG, BAEC Gold, LH FTL, FBP, CCG, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,533
As for the OP - I'm amazed at how poorly BA seems to have handled the situation. I would have made the same assumptions as the OP and I'm very much surprised to read that he didn't walk out of the airport with his passport in hand the same day.
Jun 28, 2017, 1:01 am
#25
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: LON
Programs: BA Gold; LH FTL; IHG Diamond; Marriott Gold; ALL Gold
Posts: 1,758
Indeed, but I wasn't suggesting going to airside departures, just walking back down the arrivals walkway along the same route that you'd normally walk from the plane to the UK Border. AFAIK there are no one-way doors there. Perhaps you wouldn't be allowed all the way on to the aircraft, but whether you get stopped at the airbridge or at the aircraft door, it should hopefully be easy enough to ask one of the crew to find it for you.
Jun 28, 2017, 1:14 am
#26
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,791
I'm sure people aren't supposed to do this, but since the airside door of the aircraft is also dirty, it is possible to go all the way back to the door of the aircraft via the passageway in T5. There's nothing to stop this. As you say, in procedure terms you would not be allowed on to the aircraft itself but it's not unusual for someone to come back down the airbridge in this situation.
Jun 28, 2017, 1:16 am
#27
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4
Same here (although I've been doing this since long before the Vegas incident). Passport, phone and wallet stays on my person until after take-off. Shoes also stay on until we are in the air. That way I know I'm able evacuate quickly and deal with the aftermath as needed.
As for the OP - I'm amazed at how poorly BA seems to have handled the situation. I would have made the same assumptions as the OP and I'm very much surprised to read that he didn't walk out of the airport with his passport in hand the same day.
As for the OP - I'm amazed at how poorly BA seems to have handled the situation. I would have made the same assumptions as the OP and I'm very much surprised to read that he didn't walk out of the airport with his passport in hand the same day.
It never leaves me for two reasons: 1) I live in Asia and travel around the region a fair bit - and so do gangs of professional baggage thieves, ever ready to notice someone sleeping or being inattentive to their possessions; 2) I'm ready to evacuate a plane without having to think about what I'm leaving with, and my hands are free to climb over the backs of seats if necessary to get around those (mainly Chinese) travellers who tend to prefer to wait to get their carry-on before evacuating.
You may call it paranoia, I call it PTSD.
Jun 28, 2017, 1:26 am
#29
Join Date: Aug 2016
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 38
Indeed, but I wasn't suggesting going to airside departures, just walking back down the arrivals walkway along the same route that you'd normally walk from the plane to the UK Border. AFAIK there are no one-way doors there. Perhaps you wouldn't be allowed all the way on to the aircraft, but whether you get stopped at the airbridge or at the aircraft door, it should hopefully be easy enough to ask one of the crew to find it for you.
It would be a security risk if you got off and were not then processed through security before being allowed back at an aircraft.
Jun 28, 2017, 1:28 am
#30
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 66
My partner managed to do this flying into GVA on BA. Realised about 3 minutes after de-planing and he turned around and legged it back to the gate - managed to recover passport from seat-pocket and all was OK.
I will never let him forget - he always claims to be the organised one
I will never let him forget - he always claims to be the organised one