Sean Ferres and his girlfriend Brooke were at the airport, heading to Bali from Australia. At the check-in counter, Virgin Australia denied them boarding due to a small coffee stain on Brooke's passport. The couple claims they had used the same passport to travel to over 20 countries before, including Bali.
"Virgin Australia decided that this microscopic coffee stain on Brooke's passport made it 'unreadable' and denied us boarding our flight to Bali," said Ferres on Facebook. "Virgin then promised us they will reschedule us onto another flight at no cost once we sort the passport out."
However, Ferres said Virgin marked him and his girlfriend as "no-shows." They ended up spending $2,000 to fly with Jetstar instead, which allowed them to board without any issues regarding the passport.
"Absolutely blows my mind that 25 years after the invention of the internet – in an age where even a $500 phone has advanced facial recognition – we still rely on a flimsy ass piece of paper to leave the country," Ferres wrote on Facebook.
It appears Virgin was trying to avoid a potential fine. According to
Indonesian authorities may impose an airline with a $3,290 fine for allowing a passenger with a damaged passport, it is understood, with the airline that transported them generally liable for all costs associated with removing them.
The pair aren't the first to be rejected from a flight over what appears to be slight damage to a travel document.
Earlier this year, a UK couple accused budget airline Ryanair of kicking them out of the airport after barring them from flying due to a minuscule tea stain on one of their passports.
Previously:
• My life on the road: A lost passport, no ID, and bullshit paperwork trying to get back to Canada
• Man denied passport because of his naughty name
• Irish customs accepts Native American passports, 12 years after UK rejection
• Your passports are full of tech
• Only three people in the world travel passport-free
