abeyro

Well, Schengen zone rules state that within the European Union, identity cards meeting the official EU standard may also be used by a European citizen as a travel document in place of a passport.

ID cards (carte d'identité in French, identiteitskaart in Dutch and Personalausweis in German etc.) are ussued by most European countries (Denmark and the UK being the exception).
I am a bit surprised by your claim of a passport being required when you travel to Estonia ( Finnish ID henkilökortti/identitetskort
would do ).

miikkak

The point is that you can get passport at the airport after being "stupidity surcharge" if you forget that Kiwiland isn't in Europe...

Often1

The fact is that if you are uncertain about how to travel, there are guided all-inclusive tours which cater to exactly this market. I would never go near such a tour, but there are people who are overwhelmed by passports, seat selection, hotel terms, which side of the road one drives on, foreign languages and the like.

The only really good part of this anecdote is that the front line CSR shunted the kettles off to a supervisor and kept the line moving.

joethekay

I thought if you are flying internationally from the US, you must provide a passport number when you are purchasing your tickets. This information is forwarded to the TSA and the names are vetted before the flight ever leaves the US.

mikeef

Why do I think that if the OP had slapped these guys upside the head, the CSR would have claimed to have not seen anything?

Mike

gfunkdave

At check in, not purchase.

gglave

...and the information is not forwarded to the TSA per se. It's compared against no-fly lists. It's also forwarded to USA CBP, as well as the immigration services for the country to which you're travelling.

NC_Girl

OP Here..... the couple were older and did say something about they didn't need one to go to Mexico so I think that they really just didn't know. They had obviously been looking forward to traveling and were flustered and upset but still they should have done some research beforehand.

I just don't understand how they got all the way to check in without realizing they needed a passport!

M60_to_LGA

Don't all ticket confirmations these days include standard language about how you need a passport? I just pulled one of my currently pending Expedia itineraries, and I see this language:

Proof of citizenship is required for international travel. When children are traveling, additional documentation may also be necessary. It is your responsibility to meet entry requirements for the countries you are traveling to and connecting through.


Upon clicking the link at "Proof of citizenship", I get this:

Most countries require a valid passport, though some require only a certified birth certificate and photo ID. Some countries also require visas.

I would expect all other agencies/airlines have similar disclaimers, precisely to avoid being held responsible for this exact problem.

It's an unfortunate situation, but clearly the fault lies with them. Hopefully they'll be able to reschedule the trip.

vaillancourt

Do you need a passport if you are travelling between two countries that you are citizen of? For example, could a US citizen travel to the UK without passport if he is also a UK citizen? Technically none of the two countries could deny that person entry...

djk7

They probably do, but who reads the fine print? I bought award tickets a few months ago from the US to the UK, there might have been something about passport, but I don't remember it being highlighted in flashing red or anything. Of course, I am fully aware of the requirement, so no problem here, but I could see how people could miss it. In any case, it is their responsibility to know the requirements.

You are right that the country(ies) you are a citizen of would need to let you back in, but proving that without a passport could be time consuming, potentially including hours or even days locked in a little room.

From a practical point, I don't think any airline will let you board an international flight without showing the passport, so unless you sail your ownl boat or fly your own plane, it's mostly a theoretical question.

Emma1420

I bet most people don't even click on the link to find out what proof of citizenship means. They assume that their drivers license will suffice, and that the airline wouldn't take their money and/or will make sure that they have everything they need in order to travel.

Need

Actually I would think it happens quite often. Ages ago when everyone bought international flight ticket from a real person (travel agent), the agent will make sure you know that you need passport or visa for the country you are going to visit. Now everyone could just click and buy ticket online. I bought tickets last year to Moscow and Hong Kong and I don't remember there were any pop up windows or reminder message telling you about passport or visa. If there were any, they were probably hiding in a corner of the page while majority of the page were taken up by GET HOTEL AND RENTAL CARS FOR BIG DISCOUNT NOW!

I can totally see people who only have been to Canada and/or Mexico years ago thinking that American could go anywhere with just driver license!

homelyboy

And in order to correctly pop those windows up, the software would need to know the customer's citizenship(s) - at least.

SPBanker

Official identity card (not driver's license!) is enough for Schengen area member countries' citizens (or was it residents?) to travel to other Schengen countries. US citizen traveling from Finland to Estonia would still need to carry his/her passport, even though the probability of anyone checking is low.