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Original poster

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

175 replies

Eastie77 · 03/07/2018 21:47

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 pocketConfused, 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?!

OP posts:
dementedma · 04/07/2018 08:02

Yet another reason to hate flying! currently in Poland on holiday and stil recovering from the horrors of airports and cheap flights (can't afford an expensive one!)
I take a photo of each of our passports in case it gets lost, just to prove we actually have them and so it can speed up the process of getting a new one, maybe.
also buy a pouch on a lanyard and wear it round your neck. No chance of passports falling out of pockets etc.

mumsastudent · 04/07/2018 08:16

rule 1 never ever put important things/paper/documents in aircraft seat pockets & even if the aircraft people couldn't find passport it is still the owners fault - not the airlines - some of the budget airlines have really quick turn arounds so they may not have enough time to search

PolkerrisBeach · 04/07/2018 08:19

Some people are clueless though. You will see them at any airport security where despite the endless signs they're trying to take a litre bottle of water through, or are arguing the toss about having to remove their jacket. We've all heard the announcements "Would passenger Jones travelling to Malaga please proceed immediately to gate 4 where your flight is awaiting an immediate departure" - which means Jones is getting pissed in the bar or looking at sunglasses in duty free and is too stupid to look at departure boards.

As my teen keeps telling me - consider the average person, then realise that half the population are stupider than that.

IsMyUserNameRubbish · 04/07/2018 08:24

I wear my passport like a second skin when travelling to the airport, I lost out on a holiday of a lifetime years ago when I got to the airport and couldn't find it...........never again! ☹️

BerylStreep · 04/07/2018 08:27

My DH left his new iPhone in the seat pocket of a plane. Realised within 5 minutes of leaving, plane was on the tarmac, next flight hadn't boarded. Staff were asked the check the plane, and were even given the seat number. They claimed not to find it. So either staff found it and pocketed it, or another passenger noticed and pocketed it.

I can see how this happened to the couple in Greece.

Tbh my DHs insistence on putting things in the front pocket drives me 😡

mmzz · 04/07/2018 08:31

I took at photo of each of our passports and emailed them to myself. So if we lose them, I don't have to rely on finding a paper copy, all I need is an internet connection.

astoundedgoat · 04/07/2018 08:37

I once forgot my passport flying from Paris home to my own (famously friendly!) country. They let me on the flight on the grounds that you should always be allowed to get "home" and I was clearly the nationality I said I was because of my accent (shared by the check in staff). Shock

DH then had to retrieve my passport from th Indian embassy where it was languishing waiting for a visa,and post it to me so I could get back to Paris (which is why I forgot it existed).

Strugglingtodomybest · 04/07/2018 08:48

I left my passport on the plane once, didn't realise until I got to my transfer gate. The guy on the gate rang Heathrow to ask if it was OK to put me on the plane, asked me what my nationality was and where I was born and then let me on. My passport turned up in the post about 5 days later.
Sounds like I was very lucky.

I'm embarrassed for this couple, not that they did it, but that they're moaning to the papers about lack of compensation.

MsJudgemental · 04/07/2018 09:00

DH left his wallet on a plane to Nice. It was probably stolen by airline staff as his cards were used back in Manchester.

Dash38 · 04/07/2018 09:01

This also happened to us. My son left his new kindle in the seat pocket and they wouldn't let us back on the plane. Despite telling them the seat number it wasn't found.

wineoclockthanks · 04/07/2018 09:05

It's worth taking a photo of everyone's passport on your phone when travelling.

I dont think they'd allow you in a country on the basis of it but it would prove who you are and make it easier to register it as lost/stolen.

Snowysky20009 · 04/07/2018 09:10

I'm amazed at the amount of things left and notf

Snowysky20009 · 04/07/2018 09:10

-Opps

And not :found! Either

Snowysky20009 · 04/07/2018 09:11

I give up- my phones not playing game (until I typ

Itsfridayiminlovee · 04/07/2018 09:12

This happening is my worst nightmare! I keep all the passports when we travel as a family because I am a control freak.

I get annoyed at opening each one to see who it belongs to when dishing them out. Are you allowed to put wee stickers or something on them?

RollaCola84 · 04/07/2018 09:15

For everyone who thinks they was stolen to be sold, what use do you think passports are to anyone else when the photo is digitally printed on the page ? Unless they have dopelgangers running about. Hmm

specialsubject · 04/07/2018 09:15

been a while but in my experience as airport transfer rep, stuff left on the plane is never seen again. no one has time to search even if it hasnt been nicked.

I used to remind departing passengers that the same applies from the coach on the way back, and check the seats myself before the driver left. Believe it or not we had to call one family back to retrieve a sleeping child from a spare seat!

Zaphodsotherhead · 04/07/2018 09:21

I take photos of my passport and send them to my kids, so everyone has my passport number! I am another 'passport paranoid' as I often do long-haul flights to my DD in Australia and my brain gets so fried by the time I'm getting off the flight I could easily manage to forget my entire luggage.

But I do have a special 'keeper' for passports, insurance documents etc, which is close to my heart at all times!

DaffoDeffo · 04/07/2018 09:32

British passports are v valuable. I travel for my job and do make sure in foreign countries that they are actually handing you your own passport back (it does happen believe me!).

I tend to take a bag on the plane with a zipped pocket and put all valuable documents needed in that.

but even I double check that everything is safely zipped in there before the plane takes off!

one airport in a foreign country they wanted to take my passport away to make a copy (hotels sometimes do this too) and I always insist that I go with it - try not to let it out of my sight as without it, you really are stuck

Xenia · 04/07/2018 09:33

I have photocopies of everyone's in the family. neve rput things in those seat pockets of any kind ever other than rubbish is my watch word and always have one place the passports are always in and never vary it. On our recent trip one lost their mobile - left on coach to air port. He was giving up as we were queing with luggage but I found the rep and she said the coach was still there and they would look - however I sent him with her as these poor people have loads to do and cannot be searvching high and low whereas you search hard for your own stuff and it was wedged down a crack between the two seats and he got it and found and it and all was well - this was 10 minutes after another of our lot couldn't find their cas on the coach (someone on the coach had wedged it under diving equipment away from the other cases for some reason - and yes that was found too).

bakingdemon · 04/07/2018 09:34

My husband once thought he'd lost his on a plane - turned out it had fallen out of his bag in the overhead locker and was hidden under another bag.

Lilajuvel · 04/07/2018 09:37

It's a conspiracy. The cabin crew searching these planes for you guys are clearly lying to you and taking the things for themselves Wine

Lilajuvel · 04/07/2018 09:37

Wink that was not supposed to be a wine...

thricethebrindledcat · 04/07/2018 09:38

For everyone who thinks they was stolen to be sold, what use do you think passports are to anyone else when the photo is digitally printed on the page ? Unless they have dopelgangers running about.

Fraudsters can try to use documents like passports to set up bank accounts or get credit. Passports can be taken to other countries and 'modified' there before being sold to criminal gangs. As soon as new anti-fraud technologies come in someone else will work on a way to get round them. Iris and fingerprint recognition becomes scary when you think of the methods criminals might try to get hold of the data Sad

Orangecake123 · 04/07/2018 09:38

My mother dropped her boarding pass and thankfully it was handed back to her. I keep a tiny pocket sized bag just for passports and travel documents.

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