UK passport holders
 

Anyone on here heard of UK passport holders having problem checking in. Friend tonight went to check in for amsterdam flight with UK passport to be told he needs a visa. Denied check in.

Bit difficult to advise. Where were they flying to, and via where?

Maybe they assumed that Brexit would actually occur yesterday.

If OLCI, I won't worry about it.

Many CX passengers are British Passport holders. So it has to be a glitch.

If at an airport then I'd ask them to check their visa checking system. If online don't worry about it and head to the airport as per normal.

I've once had an issue flying from Europe to the UK (as an Australian passport holder) where I was told I'd need a visa but a quick check on the system revealed an uninformed agent.

OP - also, it would help if you can specify which British Passport your friend is using.

AFAICT - The only AMS service from CX is HKG-AMS. In Hong Kong, there are at least 2 British Passports in circulation - British Citizen and British National (Overseas). One still has the freedom of movement and one does not.

But regardless, both types of British passports - along with the HKSAR passport - is eligible to enter Schengen, either as a freedom of movement right or visa free.

Maybe one of Nigel Farage's agents campaigning to show what a 'real' No Deal Brexit would be like

He has UK Passport but the problem was the system was saying he has overseas UK passport. He went to check in Taipei to go to Hong Kong then Amsterdam all on CX with a connecting flight with Flybe from Amsterdam to Birmingham. Seems the system changed his passport status from UK to UK overseas. Just spoke to him and they are trying again tonight .

It's always good to bring a printed copy of the passport and visa requirements page of the destination country from the local government website, passport issuing country (in this case gov.uk) or the IATA page.

Forgive me, did he not have the passport with him at check in?

Relevant or not, the problem may be related to passport validity.

At the minimum, a British Citizen can enter the Netherlands as soon as the passport is valid at the time of entry. But the same thing does not apply to BN(O).

Again - what kind?

In 6 British Passports currently in circulation, half of them have the word "Overseas".

It is far more important to carry a printout from TIMATIC. That is what CX and other IATA carriers rely on.

In any event, it does not matter what the UK Foreign Office believes the admission requirements are. What matters is what Dutch authorities have to say.

Wouldn't a check on the actual passport itself resolve this issue? Unless the check in agent and the supervisor is an idiot, it would be quick to see if the GBR passport said the person was a British Citizen or not..

Wallabys a bit doubtful of details in friends' story..

If the pax had a valid standard UK passport, I strongly doubt that the airport staff would refuse to check him based on the fact that the system made a mistake in identifying the passport. That can easily be corrected at check in, even if there is an alert showing at OLCI.