Aussie’s travel warning after she was banned from flying to Bali due to tiny passport detail
An Australian woman is warning other travelers to ensure their passports are in good condition after a watermark stopped her from boarding her overseas flight.
Renee Reader, 30, posted a video on TikTok to express her heartbreak after Virgin Australia didn’t allow her to fly to Bali on Monday.
The founder of a home organization company Graceful accompanimenttold Daily Mail Australia that the flight had a stopover in Melbourne, where she passed security checks for her international flight.
“But when I got on the plane, the girl said, ‘I don’t know anything about this,’” she said.
After showing the document to other Virgin employees, the staff member proceeded to take photos of Ms Reader’s passport.
When the Gold Coast resident questioned what was going on, the staff member told her to send it to security “for approval.”
After waiting at the gate, Mrs. Reader’s fears finally came true.
‘She (the staff member) said, ‘I just wanted to let you know that you are not going to Bali today. You are not getting on this flight,” she recalled.
Renee Reader, 30, (pictured) said she was ‘heartbroken’ she was not allowed to board her flight to Bali on Monday due to a water and pen mark in her passport
Ms Reader said she believed her passport had never appeared damaged and that she had made three separate trips abroad with the marks
“I started crying, I was devastated, so heartbroken.”
Ms Reader said the woman pointed out the stain but also questioned her about ‘a pen mark’.
It is understood there were also some black spots on the bottom of the 30-year-old’s passport in the machine readable zone (MRZ).
Ms Reader was escorted through gate security before Virgin Australia got her a flight back to the Gold Coast, telling her she should have been stopped from boarding her first flight from Queensland.
“I felt like I was a criminal,” she said
The business owner is now $2,000 out of pocket for her vacation expenses.
‘I was excited about this trip to stay at a retreat in Bali. This was my time,” Ms. Reader said.
‘I have had that passport with that stain on it since 2022 and I have been to Europe since then. I flew to Bali twice.
‘This would have been my fourth holiday abroad with exactly that passport and that stain.
“If I thought it would have been a problem, obviously I would have gotten a new passport.”
The company’s founder (pictured) said she wants people to be aware of the problem and that there should be a way for travelers to check whether their passport meets an airline’s standards
Ms Reader said her ordeal has highlighted a major issue for travelers that needs to be addressed and there needs to be more ‘awareness’.
“There has to be some kind of process because what they consider damaged is not what we consider damaged,” she said.
“Where can people go and figure this out before they fly?
‘This is not what I would consider a damaged passport, but for Virgin it was the worst they have ever seen.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that staff are checking that all travel documents are in an ‘appropriate condition’.
“We review travel documentation in accordance with guidance from the Australian Government and various immigration authorities,” they said.
The businesswoman is now $2,000 out of pocket
“To help our guests prepare for their travel, we provide general guidance on damaged passports on the Virgin Australia website, in our Conditions of Carriage and in pre-flight communications.”
Indonesia may enforce strict rules if a passport is damaged and passengers may be denied entry.
An airline could be fined $5,000 and be responsible for flying the passenger back to Australia.”
It is understood Ms Reader has been informed by Virgin Australia that once her passport is renewed she can change her flight free of charge.
But Ms Reader told Daily Mail Australia she was not told this and the email request was rejected.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Virgin Australia for further comment.