An Australian man was turned away from a flight to Bali after Batik Air staff picked up on the slight damage to his passport
A Perth man denied boarding a flight to Bali had a small tear near the spine of his passport, the damage did not block any information.
A man was prevented from boarding his flight to Bali due to a small tear in his passport, despite having traveled to America a week earlier with the exact same damage.
The Australian man said he went to the Batik Air desk at Perth Airport last Tuesday to check-in for his flight.
However, when staff saw small tears on his photo identification page they told him he would not be allowed to board.
‘The woman I checked in with immediately took my passport straight to the manager and they basically said straight up, “You’re not flying”,’ he told Yahoo News.
The man argued that he had traveled to both the US and Bali in recent weeks to work on the same tear in the spine of the passport.
The damage did not yield any information or his identification photo.
A man was prevented from boarding a Batik Air flight from Perth to Bali last Tuesday because of a small tear in his passport (above).
‘It was just outrageous… I said with a bit of a stink, it’s absolutely ridiculous,’ she said.
The Australian Passport Office says that ‘normal wear and tear’ on passports should not be considered, only ‘serious damage’ is likely to be a problem when travelling.
Batik Air reportedly told the Aussie that he needed a new passport to fly with the airline again but he was hesitant because his Indonesian visa was attached to his current passport – which expires next year.
The man said he walked only ’60 to 70 metres’ from the Batik Air desk to the AirAsia desk where he showed the staff the condemned passport.
The airline immediately cleared him and he bought a new ticket on the spot.
‘I had to wait for five hours, got on an AirAsia flight [in Bali] Went straight to immigration,’ he said.
Although he is happy that he was finally able to enter Indonesia, the man is still frustrated with Batik Air for refusing to refund his $600 ticket.
The man said he had worked in Indonesia for 30 years and considered his and other recent passport losses to be ‘a set-up’.
‘I understand the rules and stuff but what’s not right is the inconsistency. If they’re really going to nail people for passport errors – tell them!’ she said.
The man quickly managed to get a flight to Bali with another airline but was disappointed Batik Air (above) wouldn’t refund his $600.
Several Aussies have reported passport problems trying to enter Bali in recent months.
On June 21, Emma Doherty was meant to fly from Sydney to Bali but officials said her passport was denied boarding due to water damage that made the document look ‘dodgy’.
‘I literally said that if they let me go to Bali, the military and airport security would put me in a cell,’ he said.
‘Basically, there was a little water damage to the bottom of my passport.
‘I didn’t notice either. I travel all the time, and this has never been mentioned to me before.
‘Apparently the Bali airport is really, really strict, and they’ve been known to put your passport in a cell if they don’t like it.’
Melbourne woman Monique Sutherland also faced problems when she tried to enter Bali with a ‘dirty’ passport.
She claimed that Batik Air made an additional ‘blue form’ of her signature when she checked-in for her flight due to stains on her seven-year-old passport.
However, when he arrived in Bali he was taken to an interrogation room where officials threatened him with deportation if he did not pay a $1,500 fine.
‘My passport was actually accepted and the visa entry was already stamped, until I handed them the blue form I had chosen,’ Ms Sutherland told 7 News.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Batik Air for comment.
Melbourne woman Monique Sutherland fined $1,500 by Bali officials for entering with ‘dirty’ passport (above)
Australian passport loss rules
The Australian Passport Office says on its website:
‘Normal wear and tear should not be a problem. More serious damage may prevent you from traveling. It is important that:
No tears or cuts to pages, especially photo pages Everything on the image page is crisp and clear There are no marks in the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) across your photo or on the photo page No pages have been removed No alteration or tampering
‘If you are unsure about the status of your passport, call us on 131 232 or contact your nearest Australian diplomatic or consular mission.
‘We may need to see your passport to assess this.’