To be utterly confused about couple who lost their passports on a plane?!

[Eastie77]

Just reading the story all over the news about the couple who had to return to the UK 30mins after arriving in Greece because they lost their passports on a plane. I'm truly baffled. They put both passports in a seat pocket, forgot about them and disembarked on arrival in Greece. They realised within 2 minutes after leaving the plane but were not allowed to re-enter so cabin crew searched the 'entire plane' and failed to find the passports.

There must be more to this than meets the eye but I can't work out what. Clearly they had the passports at some stage or they wouldn't have been able to board in the U.K. but how can they have disappeared in 2 minutes?!

@NotAsGreenAsCabbageLooking no I'm like you, I constantly check and recheck it's there, I drive DH mad

Oh yes NotAsGreenAsCabbageLooking the white knuckle grip, the constant checking - that's me too

I left a lovely black pashmina on a BA flight once - I realised that I’d left it beside my seat literally as I was one or two steps off the plane and walking up the boardwalk thingie. Wasn’t allowed back on and although the crew ‘searched’ it was never found.

I would quite believe they had been innocently lost or stolen, either in the departure airport (after all ID checks) or in the aircraft or at arrival airport. All permeations quite possible.

Most bemusing part is who they think they were entitled compensation from and why 🙄

Oh god this thread is making me so anxious. Currently lying in bed on holiday. I’ve just had to reach under the bed to my hand luggage bag just to touch the passports and make sure they haven’t evaporated

I'm often quite dopey with my passport. I get so obsessed about where to put it, then i forget. Last time i had to nearly empty my whole case at security before i found it down the little side pocket.

NotAsGreenAsCabbageLooking - that's perfectly normal behavior - it's everyone else who is acting nuts here.

First time I flew with DH - he got to airport - then suddenly couldn't find his passport - too many pcokets . That led every since to insist on "normal behavior" ever since.

This happened to my DH, his passport fell out of his pocket, and as we walked through the airport he realised and attempted to run back but he was stopped by gun carrying security guys.

He was lucky the cleaners found and returned it and I feel this poor couple did not have such honest cleaners.

I bet it was stolen as a British passport is worth a lot of money.

I found a passport in one of the overhead lockers as I was disembarking a plane. It must have fallen out of someone else's bag. I gave it to one of the stewardesses. I hope it got back to it's owner - I assume they wouldn't have been able to leave the airport without it.

I lose things all the time but even I can manage to keep my passport in my hand luggage on a flight.

We had our passports stolen from home. The whole house was ransacked and at first it appeared nothing was taken except an ancient laptop. We had just returned from abroad and passports were on the side. Initially we tought they were just misplaced and a local oppurtunist would have no interest. The police said the same. However in transpires that there is a huge market for passports and they can fetch a fair amount.

Last year went on big family holiday. 15 people, 3 generations of my family. Arriving from 5 different locations.

My DP is notoriously bad for losing track of stuff ( I once gave him his ticket for a west end show directly opposite the theatre, it was gone by the time we got to ticket check). I was keeping hold of his passport, but had to give it to him when necessary, obvs.

We only found out after disembarking, waking for miles in the airport, wait in the passport control q (with 2 year old and me in first trimester) in the baking heat only then does he pipe up oops no passport must be on the plane. Traipse back to the gate, staff could not have been more helpful, back to passport control. Bags searched and researched.

They were going to send him.back, but then relented, let him in said report to office and get new passport wirhin 3 days.

Leaving airport, find he has wrapped his fecking passport in his boarding card, and then stuck it in his hat.

Was a shit start to a cracking holiday

I once saw a panicked man at security in the airport. He had handed over his passport and been given a different passport back.

I haven't read this story but I lost our passports on a plane once. We were going to France - me, DH and 1 year old DD. Fortunately I have good French and was able to explain what had happened. We couldn't find them. I was distraught. Luckily the nice passport guy let us in to the country and we got temporary passports to travel home from the consulate in the nearest large city.

Found the passports almost a year to the day in a very hidden pocket in the nappy bag.

This has never happened to me and I didn't think it was possible. I'm glad I read about this because my 19 year old son is going on a long haul flight and now I can warn him that this can happen.

I once put my wallet in the seat pocket, remembered a few minutes after leaving the plane, wasn't allowed back on, and the cabin crew reported they could not find the wallet in the pocket of the seat I told them it was in.

I didn't ask for compensation though!

This happened to my friend's son when the family were travelling to France.

They realised in the queue for passports, tried to go back to the plane, the stewards said they'd check the seat pocket, then told them it wasn't there.

He was actually allowed to enter France because he had a photo of his passport on his phone.

2 days later, they were contacted by a lovely bloke in England who'd found the boy's passport on his return flight from France to England (and rung the emergency contact details in the back). He FedExed it to them in France so they didn't have to come back via the British Embassy to get a new one!

I think the stewards are told to say they've checked and it isn't there without actually checking.

They have hardly any time to turnaround the plane as it is.

Assuming someone stole them, this would have to be another passenger

Could be crew.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-couple-greece-holiday-lost-passports-plane-stansted-kos-first-choice-tui-a8428841.html

“There’s no sign of our passports and we’ve had no help, no compensation, nothing. We’ve done everything we could but no one seems to care.

“It was a nightmare, the biggest you could imagine.”

Umm, no. This is more of an "I'm such an idiot" moment. The death of a child is the biggest nightmare I can imaging, not forfeiting a holiday due to my own carelessness.

What are you meant to do with passports when going through security. I usually end up putting mine in a tray & then grabbing it once I’ve been scanned. However recently I did this & there was a huge tray backlog. I was trying to get shoes on, restrain DC & look out for my tray. I thought anyone could so easily nab it.

What are you meant to do with passports when going through security.

I normally keep mine in my hand. Nobody has ever complained. I did once put it down when pulled over for a drugs swab, and then have to sprint back to get it a couple of minutes' later. Luckily it was still there!

I nearly did something similar last week I'm also a paranoid compulsive passport checker, but I had it in my lap and dropped it during landing. I couldn't pick it up as I couldn't reach with my seatbelt on, and the movement of the plane meant it slid under someone else's seat - luckily they noticed and gave it back, but they could easily have scooped it up with their stuff by accident or stolen it and disappeared into the airport before I'd been able to alert anyone.

I wouldn't have tried to claim compensation if I had lost it though, because I'm not a complete tit!

I think we are cursed as a family in regards to passports. The stolen ones were discovered just before a trip away and cost a not unsubstantiated am out to replace. Late DH managed the following,

• Trip to visit a relation in Eastern Europe before they joined the EU. IT was too expensive to fly at this time so we took a bus. This was lucky because ticket was booked in my name only so DP could use his brother's passport as his could not be found. On the border there was a 3 hour delay checking and I was slightly anxious but luckily he was mixed raced and hey 'they all look the same'. Passport was later found in a holdall pocket shortly after return.

-Returning from somewhere I cleared passport control no problem. A few minutes later a panicked DP appears flanked by immigration. He cannot find his passport, do I have it? No it is in his shirt pocket.

• Trip booked for DD's birthday to Disney as a suprise. Massive anxiety making delays getting her new passport back because it was that year when the passport office was in chaos. Lots of hours on the phone result in it being fast-tracked at great expense to be delivered 7 hours before the flight. DP has lost his passport. By some wierd fluke I happened to be on our local high street and there was a sign in a charity shop window saying passport found. The only time he declutered his book collection he managed to include his bloody passport!