Thousands of British holidaymakers are set to fly to foreign lands this summer, but you should be aware of a minor passport mistake which could have massive consequences. It could even, in fact, see you turned away at the airport upon arrival.
While we all realise that our travel documents must be valid and have plenty of date on them before expiration, there are other factors which can have a severe impact on your trip. Just because your passport is in date, it doesn't mean that it's plain sailing - or flying.
This is exactly what one man recently found out the hard way while flying from Sydney to Bali for a friend's wedding.
Read more: Passport warning issued for anyone going on holiday this summer
The Star reports that Matt Vandenberg, 29, was well on his way to his holiday on the Indonesian island after initially boarding his 6am Jetstar flight. But he was in for a massive surprise at Indonesian customs upon landing.
Sharing his story on Twitter, Matt wrote: "One of my best mates is getting married on Friday in Bali, so obviously all the lads and I have flown over. I take the 6am flight out, Jetstar - everyone well behaved, staff were great. So I arrive at DPS, pay my visa, present my passport, get brought over to the immigration office who alerts me 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). Get brought into an office to be told that my passports tear isn't acceptable and I won't be allowed into the country – and my passport will be confiscated until I get on a flight home tonight."
While Matt claims that he 'didn't dispute' the fact that a tear was present, he said it wasn't noticeable until the passport was bent - hence why immigration at Sydney likely didn't spot it. He subsequently spent 12 hours at the airport before being forced to take the next flight home.
Matt claims that the airport staff were incredibly friendly despite the situation, but he was in the region of £800 out of pocket through the occurrence. He detailed: "I've had two airport police by my side the whole day - to be fair they are the nicest people you could have stuck by my side, feel very very very sorry for me – rules are rules.
"So flying home tonight and I have an emergency meeting tomorrow about my passport tomorrow morning, so hopefully can get a new one and get back over. Probably a good warning for people travelling to Indonesia – they do not mess around!"
Matt's experience left Twitter users gobsmacked, with many worried about their own travel plans. One wrote: "I’m flying to Bali in a few weeks. About to go and check the state of my passport!"
Matt thankfully was able to gain an emergency passport, travelling back to Bali to make it just in time for the wedding.
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