NewMoonMonday

Hello - does anyone have experience or know why my passport would be flagged leaving the UK to return home to Canada? I have a Canadian passport and am a SE with Air Canada. I fly to the UK at least 10 times within the year only staying for a week at a time for business. I have done this for at least 10 years yet just this year it seems that my passport has been flagged (or it's a new security measure that I have not heard about). Now when I try to board the plane at the gate check-in, I have to have my passport checked. The Air Canada personnel have told me it is flagged and that they must verify that they have seen my passport and supposedly check some other information (that I am not told) before I am actually allowed to board the plane. I find this a bit of a nuisance because it has just suddenly started seemingly without reason. I have never had a run-in with a Border Official, claimed falsely or have any criminal record. Any insight is gratefully received.

Genius1

All international passengers have their passport checked at the gate with their boarding pass to verify their identity. This is standard practice.

Do you mean that you are asked additional questions or taken aside by a UK Border Force official?

NewMoonMonday

Hi Genius 1, yes you're right of course about the check but usually from my experience it's more of a cursory check but these days the agent stops me and refuses to let me on the plane and says that there is a flag on my passport and they must verify that they have seen it but won't give me any further information. She/he doesn't ask any further questions nor am I taken aside.. It seems a mystery to me. I would like to get rid of this 'flag' if possible because I don't know why it is there in the first place and it gets annoying to have to do this each time.

UKtravelbear

One for the Canadian Passport /Immigration authorities I think. If it was a UK issue you'd have the check when leaving Canada and when going through UK Immigration.

The airline will be following their instructions to do a further check an they could be fined if they don't comply.

Perhaps your name is on a watch list of some sort and you need some sort of redress number so you don't keep getting stopped.

Genius1

I agree with UKtravelbear, this sounds like a Canadian issue. You would need to speak with them to resolve (if possible) the 'flag' that is evidently against your passport.

Andy33

If the UK authorities wanted to give your passport extra scrutiny before you left, they'd send someone from the Borders Agency. Then if you turned out to be a terrorist or international criminal you could be arrested.
As it is left to the gate agent, it will be the Canadian authorities who have flagged your passport.

:D!

I noticed you said Air Canada in your OP; has this happened on other airlines as well?

My uncle has had similar trouble in the past - he has a similar (at least when transliterated into the Latin alphabet on his Canadian naturalization) name to a notorious person who previously resided in Canada.

NewMoonMonday

Thanks all for the input. I am going to contact Canada Border Services and see if I can resolve this, and do as you suggest UKtravelbear and get a redress number if possible. I'll post back on any info that might be worth it for others to know or for others interest.

! - no, it hasn't occurred with other airlines but then I usually only travel via Air Canada so it is kind of hard for me to say that it is only them where I run into this issue. I just found it odd because my name is pretty generic, with many others with the same name but who knows (*knock on wood) but one of the 'other me-s' has done something so we are all flagged. -_-;