About to board my international flight
and check-in supervisor takes one look at my worse-for-wear passport.
“I'm sorry, we can't let you fly with a passport in this
condition.” came the matter-of-fact statement. I was being denied
boarding on the basis of my deteriorating, 8-y-o passport.
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| Shoving in and out of SmartGate machines could bring about a premature end to your valuable travel document |
Now if that wasn't a wake-up call, I
don't know what it is. It's true, check-in staff, as representatives
of the airline, are responsible for ensuring the passenger has all
correct documents for travel – and this includes a valid
(undamaged) passport. If an airline delivers an invalid passenger to
the destination country, they are fined, often heavily and expected
to return that passenger at their own expense.
In my case, I was able to convince the
airline I was a valid passenger and that the damage to my passport
was due to wear and not tampering and that I was prepared to take the
risk at immigration in my destination and be ready for an immediate
return journey. Australian immigration in departures took one look at
it, held it up like a stale sardine and gibed, “maybe it's time to
get a new passport.” It was a nervous 8-hour flight, let me tell
you.
As it turned out, the immigration
official at my destination barely flinched, stamped away merrily and
handed it back with a cheery smile. But you never know. I wouldn't
want to try this in the USA.
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| Be gentle with your passport in the new SmartGate machines (customs.gov.au) |
My suspicions are that the new DIY
so-called SmartGate devices are none too delicate on passports,
especially the fat 80-page ones that might be tiring of their
travels. Pushing in and out the tight reader slot will quickly begin
to tear the seams of a weary passport, so I would strongly recommend
avoiding these machines. Even for brand new passports, this continued
use for frequent flyers may hasten a premature end for your most
valuable travel document.
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