Woman 'close to tears' as she 'can't board flight' due to 'little-known passport error'

A woman was left almost sobbing as she realised she'd made a big passportmistake when she was travelling from Sydney to Paris. Jane Lu was trying to board her flight with a passport she'd recently used on two trips to America when she was told that she may not be able to fly due to there being something wrongwith it.

Over the top of the video, she wrote: "Help?! Has anyone ever had this happen?" as she explained the situation to her followers. Jane explained that she couldn't get onto her flight because staff told her her passport was invalid due to "water damage".

"They're saying that I'm flying by China, and they might not let me through, and Paris might not let me through, but I've already flown twice with this passport to the US," she seethed, almost in tears.

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She said that because she'd gone to America twice on the passport when it was damaged, she "didn't think it would be a problem".

In a follow-up video, Jane explained that she had to "sign a waiver" that said if she got turned away in Paris, she'd have to make the journey back to Australia, so she was nervous about what would happen, because she had an over-24-hour journey ahead of her.

She said that she hoped they'd be "super chill" as she arrived in Paris, and it turned out they were, as she managed to get in and could complete her business trip successfully.

In the comments, someone wrote: "I think the people at the check-in in Australia are just way too thorough. This happened to my sister. They told her she had to board the flight at her own risk as her passport had a water stain. But when we landed in Singapore, they did not even notice".

Another defended the airport, however, saying "border security is paramount". A woman warned her to "apply for a new passport" and to ensure she "keeps it perfect," rather than allowing it to get water-damaged.

"What I wanna know, how do SO many people get water damage on their passports? Are ya’all taking them for a swim?" someone fumed.

A travel agent shared her advice, penning: "Travel agent here - a passport is a legal document, so, therefore, it must not have any damage. If an airline sends you to a place and you are denied entry, they receive a massive fine.

"Also, you can be detained on arrival for having a damaged passport. Much better to be denied here than to be put in jail or be turned around at the other end. If it’s damaged, it needs to be replaced.

"Some countries take this pretty seriously. I had a customer detained when their family went overseas and their kid spilt water on their passport and risked it. It’s not about intention, it’s about being safe".

According to My British Passport, if a passport is too damaged, then the owner of the passport may not be able to fly. They share that the extent of the damage determines whether it can still be used.

Minor wear and tear might be acceptable, but if the passport cannot be read or the chip is damaged, boarding may be denied.

According to the Post Office, the HM Passport Office classifies a passport as damaged if the following conditions are met: the details are indecipherable, the laminate has lifted enough to allow the possibility of photo substitution and the bio-data page is discoloured.