Virgin Australia passenger denied $2,000 Bali trip over tiny passport detail: 'Triple check'
Renee Reader, 30, who was booked on a Virgin Australia flight to Bali, said she would 'never want this to happen to anyone else'.
A disappointed Virgin Australia traveller is warning Aussies to "triple-check" the condition of their passports after she was refused entry onto her flight to Bali and instead escorted out of the airport by security staff.
Renee Reader, 30, flew down to Melbourne from the Gold Coast on Monday and had her passport checked several times by Virgin Australia staff before standing in the final boarding queue to Bali.
"I got through security and customs. It wasn't until I was actually boarding the flight and I handed over my boarding pass and passport that the staff weren't sure about my passport," she told Yahoo News Australia.
When staff started taking photos of her passport, Renee was asked to step to the side. She questioned what was going on and was told a "yellow stain" on the passport identification page was an issue before airline staff delivered a "heartbreaking" blow with just five words.
"You're not going to Bali," the airline staff member said. Renee was in disbelief.
Traveller lost $2,000 as passport wasn't in 'immaculate condition'
After trying to plead her case, the airline staff stood firm on their decision and said Renee would need to be escorted out of the airport by security.
"I said, 'I don't think that's quite necessary. I'm not a criminal — It's a passport with a watermark on it'," Renee recalled saying to staff. However, she was escorted regardless.
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The airline did pay for Renee's flight back to the Gold Coast, acknowledging staff should have flagged the passport damage earlier into her journey, but she lost the money for her flight to Bali and her scheduled flights back, amounting to $2,000.
"My message to everyone is to triple-check your passport and make sure that it is in immaculate condition, because they are getting a lot stricter, and I would never want this to happen to anyone else," she said. "I've travelled all over Europe, I've been to Bali with it [the mark] twice... I was in Bali just in July... it was absolutely heartbreaking," she said.
Virgin Australia defend its decision to refuse passenger
To travel, passport photo identification pages can not have any defects such as stains or rips. Yahoo News understands the yellow stain on Renee's passport did not meet the appropriate conditions set out by the Australian Government and it was on this premise she was refused entry.
Virgin Australia told Yahoo News its staff are required to flag any passport issues early to prevent passengers from enduring flights, only to be refused border entry at their destination — with Indonesia known to have strict rules on damaged passports.
"When a guest presents for check-in for an international flight, Virgin Australia team members are required to ensure they have the necessary travel documentation and that the documents are in suitable condition," an airline spokesperson said.
Airlines can also cop fines if they permit passengers to travel with documentation deemed subpar, with the Indonesian authorities known to issue penalties of up to $5,000.
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