dedenla

At Gatwick yesterday, my sister dropped/lost her passport after it went through the screening process but before we were due to board. Heading to YYZ on Westjet.
Luckily, after about half an hour, security had it turned in and returned it to her, but I would like to know what would have happened if it had NOT been found. Would she have been able to board? If they had let her on, would they have let her in to Canada in Toronto? (she is a citizen). Would she have had to stay in London and wait for an emergency new passport?
She dodged the bullet on this one, but would like to know anyway.
Thanks

84fiero

She would probably not have been allowed to board. Passports are checked at boarding because the airline can be fined and is responsible for returning a passenger carried with missing or invalid documents such as passport, visa. Even if Canada allows a Canadian in by some other means of validation/verification without their Canadian passport, the airline has no means to verify her citizenship.

airsurfer

I had a similar event in EZE long ago in 1992: passports and credit cards stolen just after check in.. After going to the airport police we were allowed to fly to AMS on the AR flight without passports. Luckily, we had photocopies of the passports.

FirstInFlight

If an airline transports you to another country try and that country refuses to let you in because you do not have a passport then the airline must transport you back. That's why the airlines closely check your documents before letting you board. So, the likelihood is that they would not have let her board. However, there have been instances in which a passenger was able to convince an airline to let them board and then try to oursuade authorities to let them in after they arrive. I wouldn't bet on that happening - but that's what she would have been facing had she not found her passport. So...is your sister really good at sales?

Thunderroad

Glad your sister didn't have to be a test case for what would happen!

If there's a lesson to learn from this, it's that this is yet another reason to carry a copy of the passport photo page with you when you travel. It's quite possible it wouldn't have made a difference in your sister's situation, but it's certainly better than nothing at all.

Often1

As a citizen, your sister could not have been denied entry, but no sensible carrier would permit her to board (the example in #3 is from 1992).

One of the reasons carriers do that final check at the gate is because a surprising number of people manage to lose their travel docs. close enough to the gate.

These days, she would have been off to get a temporary document from the High Commission.

WorldLux

Generally speaking the main difference depends on whether you are a returning to a country you are a citizen or - at the very least - permanent resident of or not. If not, chances are slim to none that any airline will allow you to board.

If you are returning to your country, then the answer is slightly more complex. The passenger in this scenario has cleared immigration (the UK doesn't do exit immigration but the passenger is non the less airside). So the airline document check essentially boils down to knowing if everyone will be let in at the destination. If you're a national of that country you may be able to produce other document that may serve as proof of citizenship/residence even though they wouldn't be considered travel documents (e.g. ids issued for domestic use only).

That said, in most cases airlines will chose the easiest way to the detriment of the passenger and refuse boarding. That in turn raises the question of what's going to happen to the passenger that is neither a resident nor a citizen of the country he's departing from.

As far as the immigration is concerned the passenger has already left the country and to obtain a new passport from the local embassy/consult would need to reentry that country which won't be possible without a passport. Will the passenger be put into a holding cell and ultimately be deported once his identity has been confirmed? Or are they just going to rehash Tom Hanks's terminal?

beckoa

Please follow the redirect as we move this query.

~beckoa, co-moderator Information Desk