Woman banned from flight & left £1,000 out of pocket due to passport mistake

A WOMAN has branded an airline “absolute jerks” after a small passport problem prevented her from boarding her flight.

Madelaine Cownie was due to fly to Bali with Australian airline Jetstar and spent more than a grand on her flights, only to be told she couldn’t fly at the airport.

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The passenger was furious after she turned up to board her flight, only to be told a small rip in her passport meant it was invaild.

She claimed that the airline offered her “no assistance to change anything” afterwards, something the airline disputes.

In a message in the Why we hate Jetstar Facebook group, she wrote: “On Wednesday after Jetstar staff refused to check me in or let me travel with them to Bali, for a rip in my passport.

“They offered me no assistance or help to change anything and left us over $2000 (£1076) out of pocket.

“Absolute jerks!”

A picture attached along with the post showed a slight tear along the stitching on Madelaine’s passport – so small that some even asked her to clarify where the rip was.

She confirmed: “The page has come away from the stitching there at the binding – about 1cm.”

Others were just as infuriated as Madelaine had been at the airport.

One said: “I would have ended up banned from the airport from my actions if that had been me. I’m raging just looking at your post.”

Another wrote: “What is it with them? Do they really hate the public so much?”

However, others suggested that the airline had only followed the rules.

One said: “They saved you the hassle of flying to Denpasar, being detained and sent back on the next flight. You should be thanking them.

“Indonesia is very strict on damaged passports.”

Another added: “You’re the jerk, your passport is your responsibility.”

Jetstar said they understood how annoyed Madelaine was by the situation, but said passengers should always check the rules before they fly.

They also said they offered to move her onto another flight, but she declined their offer.

A spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: “We appreciate this was a frustrating experience however passengers are required to have a valid passport with no tears or cuts in the pages.

“We encourage customers to check the government’s smartraveller website before they fly.

“Our airports team offered to move the customer to an alternate flight, however she declined.”

Madelaine isn’t the only passenger to have had her holiday to Bali cancelled by a passport problem recently.

Matt Vandenberg was travelling from Sydney the island to celebrate a friend’s wedding.

He arrived in Denpasar airport only to be told he wasn’t allowed into the country due to a similar rip in his passport.

He said: “The immigration office alerted me that I have a 1cm tear on my passport page.

“To be fair, he’s correct (I had no idea until he bent it all the way back, and it stood out. You couldn’t see it any other way.)”

Meanwhile, these are the passport mistakes that could ruin your holiday and leave you out of pocket.

And this woman was left in tears over a small passport mistake that cancelled her holiday.

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