An Aussie woman is warning other travellers to make sure their passport is in good condition after a watermark stopped her from boarding her overseas flight.
Renee Reader, 30, posted a video to TikTok to express her heartbreak after Virgin didn’t allow her to fly to Bali on Monday.
The founder of home organisation company Graceful Guidance, told Daily Mail that the flight had a stopover in Melbourne, where she passed through security checks for her international flight.
‘But when I was boarding the girl said ‘I don’t know about this one’,’ she said.
After the staff member showed the document to other Virgin employees, she proceeded to take photos of Ms Reader’s passport.
When the Gold Coast resident questioned what was happening, the staff member said she needed to send it to security ‘for approval’.
After waiting at the gate, Ms Reader’s fears were finally realised.
‘She (the staff member) said ‘I’m just going to let you know, you’re not going to Bali today. You’re not getting on this flight’,’ she recalled.
‘I started crying, I was devastated, so heartbroken.’
Ms Reader said the woman pointed out the stain but also questioned her about ‘a pen mark’.
It is understood there were also some black marks on the bottom of the 30-year-old’s passport in the machine readable zone (MRZ).
Ms Reader was escorted from the gate by security before Virgin provided her with a flight back to the Gold Coast, telling her she should have been stopped from boarding her initial flight from Queensland.
‘I felt like I was a criminal,’ she said
The business owner is now $2,000 out of pocket for her holiday costs.
‘I was excited for this trip to go and stay at a retreat in Bali. This was time for me,’ Ms Reader said.
‘I’ve had that passport with that stain on it since 2022 and I’ve been to Europe since then. I’ve flown to Bali twice.
‘This would have been my fourth overseas holiday with that exact passport and stain.
‘If I thought it would have been an issue I would have obviously gotten a new passport.’
Ms Reader said that her ordeal highlighted an important issue for travellers that needs to be addressed and wants there to be more ‘awareness’.
‘There needs to be some sort of process because what they deem to be damaged is not what we would deem as damaged,’ she said.
‘Where can people go and actually figure this out before they fly?
‘This is not what I would consider a damaged passport but for Virgin it was like the worst thing they have ever seen.
A Virgin spokesperson told Daily Mail that staff check that all travel documents are in a ‘suitable condition’.
‘We assess travel documentation in line with guidance provided by the n Government and various immigration departments,’ they said.
‘To assist our guests with preparation for travel we provide general guidance on damaged passports on the Virgin website, in our conditions of carriage and in pre-flight communication.’
Indonesia can enforce strict rules when there is a damaged passport, and passengers can be denied entry.
An airline can be fined $5,000 and are responsible for flying the passenger back to .’
It’s understood Ms Reader was advised by Virgin that once her passport is renewed, she will be able to change her flight at no cost.
But Ms Reader told Daily Mail she has not been told this and was denied this request via email.
Daily Mail contacted Virgin for further comment.