With many people desperate to fly off, just as many are eager to ensure they have their passports with them and that they are in date.
At least two million passports have been issued (2,035,154) in the first three months of this year, according to HM Passport Office. Though this figure is 13% lower than the same period last year, the appetite for travel is still strong.
Once at the airport, the temptation to stash your passport away in your cabin luggage instead of keeping it in your pocket or passport holder can be great. But could this actually bring your holidays to a premature end?
One travel expert has claimed this could be the case, especially if passengers end up having to stow their oversized cabin bags into the hold.
In a column for the US magazine Travel and Leisure, writer Katie Jackson said that passengers could be denied entry at their destination if they fail to show their passport at immigration – and insisted they keep their passports on their person at all times.
She wrote: “If you put your passport in your carry-on and are forced to check it at the gate (and forget to take it out before boarding your plane), you could find yourself in a serious predicament.
“For starters, if you’re flying internationally, you typically go through immigration, also known as passport control, prior to being reunited with your checked luggage and going through customs. Without your passport, you could be denied entry to your destination or face a fine.”
The situation only gets worse for those forced to check in their cabin bags on connecting flights, as Katie explained: “If you’re connecting to a domestic flight, you could easily miss that flight, too.
“For example, if you’re flying from New York to Naples via Rome, and you don’t have your passport with you when you land in Rome and go through immigration, you may miss your connecting flight.”
To further illustrate the dangers of not having your passports with you at all times, the travel writer used the unfortunate story of a British couple who, in 2018, were sent back home from Greece after they left their plane without their documents.
Lewis Mundy and Kimberley Floyd had just got off their Tui flight to the Greek island of Kos when they realised they left their passports on board – they had tucked them in the seat pockets.
But after they were prevented from retrieving their passports, and despite staff insisting their documents could not be found, the distraught pair were flown back home within 30 minutes of landing.
Katie wrote: “Once you leave the aircraft, it can be very difficult to retrieve items forgotten on board, especially if the plane is scheduled to depart again soon. Replacing a passport is not only expensive, it’s also time-consuming given all of the documents you have to gather.”
Katie was not alone in alerting people to the dangers of improper passport etiquette. The UK Border Force website also told people flying to Britain they must keep their passports and travel documents with them at all times, before adding: “Don’t be tempted to pack them away in your luggage as you will need to show your passport on your arrival.”
In April, another travel expert told sister title, the Liverpool Echo, that Brits need to make sure their passports were not damaged or else they could be denied entry at their destination.
