skywardhunter

Yeah I fill it in but never checked, once perhaps been asked if I'm really staying there

amnicoll

These entry /exit cards are a real pain. It was good to see that malaysia a few years ago saw the light and got rid of them alltogether.

The other day fly out of Dar Es Salam they had no exit cards so suggested we fill in the entry card instead!

skywardhunter

What's hilarious is that foreigners must fill them in when they enter, but not exit, while for Indians it's the opposite.

The Indian government also has a scheme to prevent human trafficking to gulf states where the passenger record must be updated with something called "OK to board" which is hilarious, given that it doesn't appear to be very effective given media reports of migrant labour conditions.

South Africa has removed them entirely which is nice. Anyway, we're quite off-topic here

eternaltransit

Those cards (in all countries) were initially mainly used to ensure that if a foreign national ended up dead, there was some trace of their movements - obviously in the 21st century there are more efficient ways of doing that hence many countries are phasing them out.

Flame3601

Coming back to the original issue, i was thinking more about this situation last night in bed - i know what a sad life .

I was mainly thinking about what i would do in this situation as the thought has crossed my mind when no one calls from the contracted service , however this usually isn't a problem.

I find it hard myself to understand how someone is able to hang around the airport waiting for his PA to wake up , especially HYD, without actually going to seek assistance from any EK rep or airport staff member let alone call the PA. I know the OP mentioned he was asleep , but in that situation i would have no problems calling my PA to let him know the situation , especially since the stranded passenger had no clue where he was going to ? I would be concerned going to a country, such as India in the case , and having not received the updated address of my location i was staying at from my very own PA prior to the flight and was hoping on the driver knowing. In addition surely the passenger would choose the place he wished to stay at , i have had a PA in the past and both our ideas of what we would deem suitable accommodation to be very different.

Not doubting the story , but just think something does not seem right about that whole thing? I would not expect anything to go smooth if the person has no clue where they were actually going.

Mr_Ed

i was once last year with a colleague at BOM when had a huge argument with the immigration officer over the landing card. He wrote in the place of stay as Holiday Inn. The officer told him he had to be more specific as it could be Holiday Inn Delhi, Holiday Inn Chennai etc. to which my colleague said why would he arrive in Mumbai if he was going to stay in the Holiday Inn Delhi that night!
Anyway one thing led to another and there was an all out fight in the middle of the immigration hall over neatness of writing (my colleague's native writing language is Arabic) and spelling in the landing card. There was also a row about why he didn't put in all five of his middle names in the card. I think both guys had had a pretty bad day and were on short fuses!

eternaltransit

But, arguing with an immigration officer? Probably not the best way to go through airports

skywardhunter

Mumbai is a common gateway airport to India as flights are much cheaper. I often fly in or out via BOM without staying in the city. Also there could be multiple hotels under one brand in the city. Gonna have to side with the immigration officer here...

jackiedada

Not sure where you are getting your information from but Indians don't have to fill in any forms either entering or exiting. Arrival cards were gone in 2014 and departure cards since the past several months.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/59206036.cms

Pretty much.

skywardhunter

From observation but they may well be gone now, my last flight out was a little rushed as I was quite late to the airport so I didn't notice if there was the usual throng of people following forms before passport control, now that you post it it does ring a bell. Anyway, 6 months ago my statement would've definitely been accurate, apologies

Mr_Ed

There is only one holiday inn in Mumbai and
it was the late evening flight in EK from DXB. Personally I think the officer was itching for a fight. Even his colleagues were quite bemused by his attitude!

jackiedada

Not really - I frequently fly to JFK due to A380 service and then take a flight to Boston. What do you think the officer is going to ask if I were to put down "Mandarin Oriental". FYI, there is only one in NYC. And it is a requirement to put the entire address including the zipcode.

Actually, he was THE one who was doing his job. Try arguing with the immigration officer at JFK and see whether that gets you to the hotel or a flight back home.

Enough of this - as the ambassador rightly pointed, this is pretty much off topic.

Saltire74

I work with a lot of very intelligent, high flying individuals. We sent a search party out a long time ago looking for their common sense. The search party hasn't returned yet............

S

Flame3601

They should come back as there is no hope I'm afraid

OzTennis

Once had a 'no driver' experience. Short version - the aircraft at Glasgow was changed < 24 hours before departure for 'operational reasons'. When I left for the airport for the CD all was in place - seat selection, CD bookings etc. Got on to the plane - someone sitting in our selected seats, given empty seats in middle rows where we don't like. Arrived at MEL at 2.00 am, went to all the drivers, no booking in our name. Went to the EK office at the airport to sort it out - office shut. Back to the drivers, they suggested getting a taxi, getting a receipt and claim for compensation later. End result was the change of aircraft meant all our seat and CD bookings were wiped from the system, we weren't notified of this change and before you ask, at the time I didn't have a smartphone to check our bookings on the move. The check-in desk person didn't mention the change and I didn't even bother to study the boarding cards to check the seats allocated.

Moral of the story is sometimes no CD is outwith your control!