A WOMAN said she was “left in tears in front of everyone at the airport” after she was stopped from boarding her flight.
Elyse Elmer, from Australia, was due to fly to Bali from Sydney.
Elyseelmer/InstagramA woman was banned from boarding her flight due to a simple mistake with her passport[/caption]
Her passport had a small tear in it, with Bali banning anyone travelling with damaged passportsElyseelmer/Instagram
However, the Aussie said she was banned from getting on her flight when she arrived at the airport.
This was because she had a tiny tear in her passport – Indonesia has some of the strictest passport rules when it comes to any damage.
She explained a video on her social media: “Last night I was denied entry into Bali.
“So in Australia, at the counter, they refused to let me on the flight.
“I cried in front of everyone. That tiny tear was all it took for them to refuse entry.”
She showed the damage to her passport, which was a small tear in the spine.
Elyse added: “That is literally […] all it took for them to totally refuse entry.”
She was forced to go home and order an emergency passport, which arrived two days later.
She eventually boarded her flight to Bali.
Some people were left stunned by how strict the rules were, with one saying it just looked like “the fold of the passport”.
However, others said that they understood why she was stopped, as the rules had been in place for years.
INDONESIA’S STRICT RULES
The guidelines were introduced back in 2019, with any airlines that allow passengers with damaged passports facing fines of thousands of pounds.
Elyse is not the first person to have been caught out by the rules.
Last summer, TikToker Emma said she was warned she faced being put in jail if she was allowed to board her flight with a ripped passport.
She said: “I guess if you guys are heading into Bali, just make sure you triple check your passport, that there is no damage, no marks, no water or anything on your passport because the state won’t let you in.”
Passenger John Hammond was detained at the airport after staff questioned him regarding his damaged passport last February.
One traveller landed in Indonesia – only to be told his passport was too damaged, and was forced to fly back after 12 hours.
Another country that has strict passport damage rules is Vietnam – here’s everything you need to know.
Passport Rules: Everything you need to know
Everything you need to know about passports:
Whether you need a passport to fly within the UK
This is who can countersign a passport application
How long a child’s first passport can last and what cost
A biometric passport explained
How to renew a passport
How to get fast-track passport renewal
The new blue British passports explained
Why do passports come in four colours?
AlamyShe boarded a flight to Bali two days later after getting an emergency passport.[/caption]“}]]