Airline staff are the final arbiters. They may seek input from immigration staff, local or at the destination, but only on an advisory basis; ultimately if the travel documents are not acceptable to border control staff at the destination, the airline picks up the tab.... AL is not a passport authority, and an independent arbitrator might come to a different conclusion than AL's check-in staff on the validity of the passport...
The OP is perfectly entitled to make a case for compensation, on the basis that Aer Lingus may have made a mistake in declaring the passport invalid. This could very well be the case. AL is not a passport authority, and an independent arbitrator might come to a different conclusion than AL's check-in staff on the validity of the passport. Or it might not, but who are we to judge?
Aer Lingus ruined my honeymoon!
I checked in with Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport no problem. But when I got to America, Immigration officials refused my husband entry on the grounds that his passport looked as if it was tampered with. Aer Lingus had to fly him home on the next flight but had no space for me. They charged me €1,000 to fly home the following day and refused to put me up for the night.
Surely Aer Lingus should have stopped us at check-in?
Should I get on to Joe Duffy? That will force them to check people in properly and go ruining their holidays for them.
Also, none of us here have seen the passport, so we cannot say for sure whether it is invalid. It could be fine, and the AL staff may have over-reacted. And I think the fact that other airlines saw fit to accept the passport in the recent past is perfectly relevant, and should form part of the OP's argument when seeking compensation.
But that's just my advice.
But this is the "compo" culture which costs us all a fortune in higher costs, higher insurance and higher taxes.
I am sorry for people who fall on the footpath when they are drunk, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
I am sorry for people who carelessly crash their car into a tree, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
I am sorry for someone who misses their honeymoon because they have a tattered passport, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
Brendan
The nonsense bit here is that (assuming that the OP would have been clearning immigration in Dublin), there was no risk for the US authorities involved. Surely a common-sense approach should have applied, i.e. bring this person down to the US desk and see for definite whether they will accept it or not.
But this is the "compo" culture which costs us all a fortune in higher costs, higher insurance and higher taxes.
I am sorry for people who fall on the footpath when they are drunk, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
I am sorry for people who carelessly crash their car into a tree, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
I am sorry for someone who misses their honeymoon because they have a tattered passport, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
Brendan
But this is the "compo" culture which costs us all a fortune in higher costs, higher insurance and higher taxes.
I am sorry for people who fall on the footpath when they are drunk, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
I am sorry for people who carelessly crash their car into a tree, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
I am sorry for someone who misses their honeymoon because they have a tattered passport, but I don't want to see them compensated at my expense.
Brendan
- they potentially may not have been aware even had an issue (I don't believe it was 'tattered')
- that possibly would have been accepted by another check-in attendant (as we have seen from anecdotal evidence from other posters)
.
The fact that the OP was not aware there was an issue is not relevant, the OP and the rest of us have to know the rules. Ignorance is not a defence. Things such as I didn't realise my passport is out of date, I didn't realise that my passport has to last 6 months longer than my stay, I didn't realise I need a visa, I didn't realise I need a machine readable passport or in this case a passport that was not up to the specifications of the US authorities is what is relevant.
So what if another attendant would have passed the passport, this doesn't mean the OP would have gained entry to the US. They might have been lucky and passed but if it would have resulted in a fine for Aer Lingus who was acting under orders and not out of spite well then that should be good enough for the OP.
Brendan I have to admit I find your tone in this thread to be bordering on insulting. The OP did not mention a tattered passport. In fact the OP mentioned that there was even disagreement among the Aer Lingus staff as to whether the passport was acceptable. I know you're trying to stick to the facts here and ignore the fact that it was their honeymoon which is fair enough but why then ignore the facts to try and get your own point across?
the check-in desk deemed his passport faulty (lamination was slighltly seperated from the paper) and corners a little dog-eared (passport 9 years old).
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