SAS / *A refuses responsibility. Rejected in Bali
Jul 9, 2006, 12:43 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: LAX
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SAS / *A refuses responsibility. Rejected in Bali
I have a big case about my brother and I am no lawyer.
He was going on a 2 week trip to Bali (Indonesia) with two friends. Booked via a travel agency (Hotel+Flight).
His itinerary was OSL-ARN (SK) ARN-BKK-DPS (TG) and return.
He left his original passport at home (BGO) and had an emergency passport issued on July 6 before departure on July 7.
He went thru check-in procedure at OSL with SK checked all the way thru, with luggage, to DPS (Denpasar Bali) on behalf of TG.
No problems occured at passport control in ARN, BKK, any boarding, check-in - but in DPS, he was refused entry because his passport was invalid.
Reason was: Date of Issue: July 6 2006. Date of Expiry: March 6 2006
He was then sent back to OSL with TG and SK.
Who is to blame? Who may give compensation? Will the rest of the ticket be voided? How would you proceed with this case?
Should this thread be moved to another forum?
He was going on a 2 week trip to Bali (Indonesia) with two friends. Booked via a travel agency (Hotel+Flight).
His itinerary was OSL-ARN (SK) ARN-BKK-DPS (TG) and return.
He left his original passport at home (BGO) and had an emergency passport issued on July 6 before departure on July 7.
He went thru check-in procedure at OSL with SK checked all the way thru, with luggage, to DPS (Denpasar Bali) on behalf of TG.
No problems occured at passport control in ARN, BKK, any boarding, check-in - but in DPS, he was refused entry because his passport was invalid.
Reason was: Date of Issue: July 6 2006. Date of Expiry: March 6 2006
He was then sent back to OSL with TG and SK.
Who is to blame? Who may give compensation? Will the rest of the ticket be voided? How would you proceed with this case?
Should this thread be moved to another forum?
Jul 9, 2006, 12:48 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Checking of valid documentation is the passenger's responsibility. Airlines will see if the passport is valid for travel. It is not up to them to check every single detail. Obviously the passport agency made the mistake of having a expiry date before the issuing date.
So blame the passport agency..,. or yourself for not checking.
So blame the passport agency..,. or yourself for not checking.
Jul 9, 2006, 2:21 pm
#4
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I agree it doesn't seem to be an airline problem and yes ticket will be wasted. Need to take it up with the passport issuer. Your brother's travel insurance possibly may cover any additional costs incurred.
Jul 9, 2006, 5:48 pm
#5
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Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
I agree it doesn't seem to be an airline problem and yes ticket will be wasted. Need to take it up with the passport issuer. Your brother's travel insurance possibly may cover any additional costs incurred.
SK should have denied boarding in OSL, but knowing how the SK check in desks in OSL work, I am would be surprised if they did
Jul 9, 2006, 8:28 pm
#6
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Abu Dhabi UAE
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One option would have been to fly back only to BKK. Then go through immigration in BKK, claiming that your passport has been lost/stolen. These guys have dealt with this before... Get to the Norwegian Embassy and get a new passportt there and fly back to DPS.
Jul 10, 2006, 12:43 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
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The passport must be the travellers responsibility even though it must feel so horrible to get turned down and fly all the way back to OSL again.
Surely they checked the passport at check-in but they shouldnt´t be held responsible for a mistake that the passport police made in error.
Surely they checked the passport at check-in but they shouldnt´t be held responsible for a mistake that the passport police made in error.
Jul 10, 2006, 3:08 am
#8
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Tromsř,Norway
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Posts: 32
Originally Posted by LonLH
SK should have denied boarding in OSL, but knowing how the SK check in desks in OSL work, I am would be surprised if they did
SK checkin quality are not the best anymore. Quantity before Quality. Sad to say...
Jul 10, 2006, 3:15 am
#9
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Tampere
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Unlike the OP's tale of woe, my story is kind of funny. A couple of years ago I had to renew my passport but needed 'one last trip'. I expected to be back home about three weeks before the expiration date. I double-checked that none of the countries I was visiting had one of those 'valid for six months' rules and away I went.
Three times, while checking in for flights, the agent said to me 'Oh, your passport is expiring soon'. Yes, yes; I know; thank you. Then, my last stop was in the UK. At that point the passport had about 25 days left. The immigration officer was so bored that he couldn't concentrate. He stamped me in with barely a word and when I looked at the stamp it said: 'Granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom for THREE MONTHS'. Ha ha.
cheers,
Henry
Three times, while checking in for flights, the agent said to me 'Oh, your passport is expiring soon'. Yes, yes; I know; thank you. Then, my last stop was in the UK. At that point the passport had about 25 days left. The immigration officer was so bored that he couldn't concentrate. He stamped me in with barely a word and when I looked at the stamp it said: 'Granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom for THREE MONTHS'. Ha ha.
cheers,
Henry
Jul 10, 2006, 4:12 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2005
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Originally Posted by henry999
He stamped me in with barely a word and when I looked at the stamp it said: 'Granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom for THREE MONTHS'. Ha ha.
Jul 10, 2006, 4:15 am
#11
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Originally Posted by henry999
...
Three times, while checking in for flights, the agent said to me 'Oh, your passport is expiring soon'. Yes, yes; I know; thank you. Then, my last stop was in the UK. At that point the passport had about 25 days left. The immigration officer was so bored that he couldn't concentrate. He stamped me in with barely a word and when I looked at the stamp it said: 'Granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom for THREE MONTHS'. Ha ha.
cheers,
Henry
Three times, while checking in for flights, the agent said to me 'Oh, your passport is expiring soon'. Yes, yes; I know; thank you. Then, my last stop was in the UK. At that point the passport had about 25 days left. The immigration officer was so bored that he couldn't concentrate. He stamped me in with barely a word and when I looked at the stamp it said: 'Granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom for THREE MONTHS'. Ha ha.
cheers,
Henry
EU citizens do not need to get their passport stamped!
Jul 10, 2006, 5:09 am
#12
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Tampere
Programs: BA EC Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,234
Originally Posted by Guy Betsy
The UK officer really must have been dreaming...
EU citizens do not need to get their passport stamped!
EU citizens do not need to get their passport stamped!
cheers,
Henry
Last edited by henry999; Jul 10, 2006 at 11:26 am
Jul 10, 2006, 7:04 am
#13
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Originally Posted by miles4all
One option would have been to fly back only to BKK. Then go through immigration in BKK, claiming that your passport has been lost/stolen. These guys have dealt with this before... Get to the Norwegian Embassy and get a new passportt there and fly back to DPS.
Jul 10, 2006, 2:50 pm
#14
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Join Date: Mar 2006
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Posts: 1,121
So with about NOK 10,000, he is attempting to return tomorrow with 3 separate tickets, God be with him.
How would he proceed to claim the miles (he did not enter any FF program) for the Thai flights?
I think he needs original boarding passes, but for the BKK-ARN segment he was refused a boarding pass with comments: "It's YOU. 54F" And nobody seemed to speak English to help him.
One more thing - the return trip seems to be valid and unused still in SAS' systems.
How would he proceed to claim the miles (he did not enter any FF program) for the Thai flights?
I think he needs original boarding passes, but for the BKK-ARN segment he was refused a boarding pass with comments: "It's YOU. 54F" And nobody seemed to speak English to help him.
One more thing - the return trip seems to be valid and unused still in SAS' systems.
Jul 11, 2006, 1:47 am
#15
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 7,323
Too bad.. Shame on SAS for letting him leave OSL
While SK clearly has no responsibility, they do check passports for a reason at OSL. Why? To avoid situations like the one described here. They failed. But they also failed at ARN passport control.
And why didn't they catch it?? My theory: They have "check that it's machine readable for the US" burned into their memory.
I would write SAS a letter and explain what happened. I think he will get some sort of compensation, SAS are pretty good in these situations IME. He made a mistake (or rather the police did), but SAS also did!
Even if he won't get a full refund, he may get a little surprise..
I would also write the police and demand a refund for this HUGE mistake. They are totally responsible and should pay all expences.
And why didn't they catch it?? My theory: They have "check that it's machine readable for the US" burned into their memory.
I would write SAS a letter and explain what happened. I think he will get some sort of compensation, SAS are pretty good in these situations IME. He made a mistake (or rather the police did), but SAS also did!
Even if he won't get a full refund, he may get a little surprise..
I would also write the police and demand a refund for this HUGE mistake. They are totally responsible and should pay all expences.