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?!

I've managed to leave my handbag on a plane before. Fortunately DH had the passports together.

I was suffering from the cycling shorts of doom type of period pains and had spent much of the night before curled up on the bathroom floor sobbing in agony which the painkillers weren't touching. A trip to the local airport, a one hour flight and a short trip to a relative's house had utterly wiped me out and I crashed out in bed ASAP so I really hadn't got a clue until the airline rang, bemused that I hadn't noticed. I got it back the next day. It was over Christmas so the schedules were probably quieter than usual.

Since then, I have avoided small handbags + hand luggage to reduce the chance of missing an easily missed additional bag.

Similar situations to this couple have happened during my time, passports were found on planes and retained then destroyed.

I'm even more amazed now that mine found it's way home to me!

It's the references to "compensation" that get me - why would they be offered it and on what grounds?

I went on a very delayed flight from JFK to Heathrowin the days when planes started taking off as passengers were getting seated. I wobbled and the man in the end seat took my passport from my hand and put it in my seat pocket. It was a very turbulent flight. At Heathrow I had to get on a flight north and panicked when I couldn't find my passport. As I spread my driving licence and credit cards before him the wonderful man at passports said"madam I do not doubt for one moment that you are not who you say you are" and wished me a safe journey. I was in the US for my daughter's delivery of her first child and in that fourteen years since the world has changed. My passport came back from Chicago a week later.

My DD left her passport in the tray before going through security. It somehow went back to the beginning of the scanner and we were "airside" having gone through security.

She realised immediately that it had gone and we talked to security And they were VERY reluctant to give it back. Apparently any UK passport that is lost has to be handed to immigration who destroy it.

Thanks to all the people calling cabin crew liars and thieves, I'm crew! I can't count the number of times I've run through an airport trying to reunite a passenger with an item they've left on board, so they son't have to go through the agony of the lost property process, or spent 15 minutes with a panicking passenger who is the last one onboard and can't find their passport. Usually the passport is their bag all along, just somewhere they're adamant they've not put important things. If we make them pull everything out of their bags and go through every pocket (despite their "but I've checked there already/I know I didn't pack it there), the passport ALWAYS turns up, just like a lot of people on this thread have said they found the passport later on. In more than two decades of flying I've never heard of a crew member stealing passports, we are randomly searched by customs and our airline's security, you'd be daft to go through with a different passport. But items may be missed once passengers are off, we do check all overhead lockers and pockets, but visually, so if something has slipped down they may be missed, plus we may have done a15 HR night shift and be tired at that point. I've left things on planes and not got it back too (duty free or uniform usually). It happens. Just do your best to look after your things, - some people are incredibly casual with their things when they fly (others hate to put their bag in an overhead locker for five minutes during take off or landing, even though nobody will be touching the lockers!).

Honeyroar I don't think people realise just how hard cabin crew work. A lot of people just think they are flying off to exotic destinations all the time. DH has been on flights where it's been Manchester > Madrid - All crew stay on plane, cabin crew cleaning - Manchester > Madrid. He's tech so not crew, but the flights he's been on he's seen just how hard you work, so please don't think you're not appreciated.

Where the fuck did that come from?

It came from the quote you omitted, which was:

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

The point, which you somehow missed, was that losing your passport and missing your holiday is not the biggest nightmare imaginable.

@Honeyroar I'm also bemused at the number of people who think it's likely cabin crew stole a couple of passport. Surely far more likely they lost them before boarding after the final check or they were just thrown out by cleaners. Although there seems to be an assumption that cleaning crew members are also inherently dishonest

I just returned from a trip abroad a few hours ago and can honestly maintain that the very last place I would ever think to put a passport is in a seat pocket. I'm not being smug (I can be very scatty and disorganised) I just can't fathom why anyone would put such an important document there.

All that said, in the hustle and bustle of boarding today I put my passport and phone on my seat and then had to walk up the aisle to find a overhead space for my suitcase and in retrospect I can see how easy it would have been for either to disappear. But I would have noticed before disembarking as I check and recheck I have my documents long before I reach passport control.

I remember this happening to a woman on Blind Date back in the eightie. Her date was not impressed

I had the wrong passport handed back to me when flying back from Goa Dabolim, which has to be one of the most chaotic airports I have ever flown from - it was a genuine mix up as it belonged to someone else in the queue. We nearly missed the flight as well, in part because noone told us that our flight back to Gatwick had been cancelled and we were actually on a Manchester flight that was going to land at Gatwick and drop us off.

And only last year I came very close to flushing my passport down the loo airside at Pisa - as it was it was only a touch soggy.

Why would you put it in the tray at security. You only need your boarding card to get in the gates and your passport is not needed until you are boarding. You can even leave mobile in your bag. Everything is in my handbag apart from liquids and laptops which have to be separated. Then I just have to pick up my bag quickly when I go through.

I was on s flight in the late 90’scsnd just before take off we were asked to check around us to we if there were any passports as a couple had lost theirs between terminal and the plane. The cabin crew said they would have to go offloaded if they weren’t found. Luckily they were found in time.

My mum and dad went on holiday with my aunt and uncle. My uncle is a blowhard and full of his own importance. On the plane he said ‘i’ll Just take charge of all the passports and paperwork’ he managed to lose it all. Luckily he found it and my mum took it back with a rather pointed ‘we’ll take care of our own items!’

My DP left a kindle in the seat pocket. He also realized immediately but wasn't allowed back on the plane. And again the cabin crew couldn't find it. Perhaps the cleaning staff has already nicked it???

I left mine and DS2's passport in the seat at Easter coming back from Orlando. It was an overnight flight and I hadn't slept so was exhausted. I realised literally as soon as I stepped off the plane but cabin crew wouldn't let me back on. Luckily one of them took pity on my hysterical crying and went back to get it for me.

Helpful crew are few and far between, the exception, not the rule sadly, especially on BA who are 💩

Am I the only one who is stressed just reading the level anxiety around passports and travel on here? We are expats and travel a lot and yes, I am careful with the documents but I have lost a passport in the past and it really wasn't the end of the world (and I was 19 and backpacking in Thailand!).

You're wrong CoolCarrie Obviously you have had bad experiences but IME they have always been great.

IME they have always been great.

I agree, though I would also agree that BA aren't the best.

Why would you put it in the tray at security

I'm not sure that is the most relevant part of my post but since you ask I always keep boarding passes inside passports. Boarding passes at many airports need to be scanned to enter security line and then again immediately prior to the scanners.

Or when using fast track you're straight from presenting boarding pass to trays without much time repack. Either way it all goes in tray and is sorted out at other end.

I would also agree that BA aren't the best.

I've only flown BA one in the last year but they were fine, and the Captain and co-pilot lovely. RyanAir wasn't so good. Vueling have been fantastic every time (about 8 times in last 12 months).

Virgin Atlantic used to be a really good airline with amazing cabin crew. I flew twice with them last year for the first time in about 4 years and it has declined dramatically.

I ‘ve been on 3 flights this week. I cannot even remember the crew on the first two but the BA cabin staff from Gatwick to Bermuda were lovely. Polite, friendly and funny (and we were way back in the cheap seats not up front).