dcadwell

Since it's been ~4 hours since he posted, I wonder if he found it or was able to get in touch with the embassy?

FlyingDL4Fun

I remember not too long ago that a US registered airline, at their discretion, has the right and ability to board a US citizen that can prove their identity in another fashion. Once in the US, a US Citizen has the right to enter without a passport. It's just a royal mess with immigration.

Of course, I'm making the assumption that the OP is a US Citizen, not a permanent resident.

Often1

OP really needs to provide better information.

Is he a USN and has therefore lost his US passport. If so, the US of course cannot deny entry to its own citizens and therefore he faces a longer entry process until his identity and citizenship can be verified, but the larger issue is getting himself boarded.

On the other hand, if he has not entered the country, he can't physically get to the Consulate (not Embassy) and thus can't obtain the temporary document which DL will want to see in order for him to board.

For this reason, I would call the 24-hour hotline immediately. It is possible that the Consulate has a junior FCO stationed at ICN during certain peak times or that it sends someone out in situations such as this. In addition, if the passport has been stolen its sole value is for criminal conduct. That can cause years of problems for OP well after he is eventually issued a new passport. Critical to report the passport lost/stolen immediately.

As to the "convince DL" issue, it is not quite so simple. Agents don't make corporate-level decisions and they are trained to require documents.

MCO Flyer

It is possible that the OP actually somehow got on the flight. This thread was posted ~4 hours ago and the ICN-SEA flight is already past Japan.

dcadwell

This is what I'm thinking. Perhaps OP finally found it.

pharmawalk

Note to self: Don't lose passport on mileage run.

Hope the OP figured things out.

davetravels

Surely, this happens every now and then. There must be a plan for it.

That said - - As far as the fine goes, immigration officials must realize that Delta isn't a slacker of an airline, in that, the GA on the departing flight, MUST HAVE eyeballed the passport on departure.

bgriff

FWIW this is good advice and less straightforward than you might think. I was once convinced for several days that I had lost my cell phone as I thought I had searched every possible pocket of my bags, and it was on airplane mode so I couldn't ping it. Turned out it was in my bag sandwiched between the pages of a magazine.

So if anyone ever finds themselves in this situation, seriously tear your bags apart before you reach any conclusions!

Hope the OP made it on the flight (and also that they found their passport).

Voldoo

Wow, I'm in awe..........it's this sort of attention to detail that separates the true travel professionals from us amateurs.

mot29

And scan your passport and keep a jpg of it on your phone.
Won't be able to get you through immigration, but you can use it to get the replacement more easily.

I was actually expecting one of those "my wallet has been stolen, please wire me money" stories.

skchin

Did you check your back pocket?

Often1

A PDF of all kinds of backup documents (even a small file of hard copy) is a must for travel. If something goes wrong, the more backup you have the better.

I also think that it's good to have these materials with a few trusted people such as a relative who doesn't live with you, your assistant, and a colleague.

There aren't that many people living in transit areas for months at a time, even though it makes for a good story line in a movie. So, these things do get cleared up.

CarmenOM

I always carry my passport card with me, separated from the passport. It has limited validity for entry through immigration but is proof of the passport and might be helpful in acquiring a replacement.

audidudi

Hopefully you took a photo of your passport and have it stored in your phone's library. Everyone should at least do this when travelling with their passport, and even have a printed color photocopy of it also. Maybe too late for you now, but you would have had it when you boarded the KE flight at ATL, so it's probably still on the aircraft, assuming that it hasn't been stolen.

rylan

I keep a printed color copy of my passport in a different location in my carryon so I at least have the number and details.

Anyway, hope the OP got on the return flight and found their passport.