Detail on passport stops woman flying to Bali for couple’s weekend

A Gold Coast man has unleashed on social media, after an Australian airline refused his girlfriend to board a flight to Bali for one reason.

An Australian man has unleashed on Virgin Australia, after a tiny mark on his partner’s passport stopped them from boarding a flight to Bali.

Sean Ferres, a Gold Coast-based DJ and music producer, along with his girlfriend Brooke, were headed to the popular island destination when she was stopped because of a “microscopic coffee stain” on her passport.

Taking to social media, Mr Ferres claims that despite using the damaged passport to fly to more than 20 different countries — including Bali previously — she still wasn’t allowed to board the plane.

“Virgin Australia decided that this microscopic coffee stain on Brooke’s passport made it “unreadable” and denied us boarding our flight to Bali,” Mr Ferres explained on Facebook to his almost 9k followers.

“Virgin then promised us they will reschedule us onto another flight at no cost once we sort the passport out.”

The passport had a small coffee stain on it, but was enough for airline Virgin Australia to cancel the passenger's flight.

Sean Ferres and his partner Brooke, pictured, were heading to Bali when she was stopped over a detail on her passport.

However, Mr Ferres claims that the pair were marked as ‘no shows’ to their flight and instead of being given new seats on an alternate flight — were told to pay up for a seat.

“Of course, all flights the next day are either sold out or stupidly expensive,” he explained, adding they ended up spending $3000 to fly with Jetstar instead.

After arriving at the airport for the Jetstar flight, which was delayed two hours, Mr Ferres said the pair checked in and went to the gate “without interacting with a single human … and board our flight with no hassle.”

“Funnily enough, Jetstar didn’t have an issue with the passport, just like the 100+ other flights we’ve taken with it,” he said.

“Landed in Bali, all e-gates and straight through with no hassles.

“Absolutely blows my mind that 25 years after the invention of the internet – in an age where even a $500 phone has advanced facial recognition – we still rely on a flimsy ass piece of paper to leave the country.”

Brooke was due to travel to Bali with her partner Sean when she was stopped over a stain on her passport.

The pair ended up paying for $3000 flights to get to Bali with Jetstar

A spokesperson from Virgin Australia told news.com.au that its staff are required to ensure passengers have the necessary travel documentation, including that the documents are in a suitable condition.

“We assess travel documentation in line with guidance provided by the Australian Government and various immigration departments.”

Virgin recommends travellers visit the Conditions of Carriage section of its website for more details on documentation.

Indonesian authorities may impose an airline with an IDR 50,000,000 fine (AU$5,000) for allowing a passenger with a damaged passport, it is understood, with the airline that transported them generally liable for all costs associated with removing them.

The pair aren’t the first to be rejected from a flight over what appears to be slight damage to a travel document.

Earlier this year, a UK couple accused budget airline Ryanair of kicking them out of the airport after barring them from flying due to a minuscule tea stain on one of their passports.

The “embarrassing” incident occurred in July while Roy Allen, 29, and his girlfriend Nina Wilkins, 35, were preparing to fly from Costa Brava in Spain for a week.

“It’s just a stain on her passport,” Mr Allen said at the time.

“She [the desk clerk] looked at all of our passports and didn’t really bat an eyelid and then we went through security.”

The couple reportedly spent more than $370 on food, drinks and other airport concessions, unaware that their dream jaunt was about to take a major left turn.

“We weren’t even thinking about the possibility of not being let on the plane,” Mr Allen continued.

Passports with water damage, unofficial markings on the data page, missing visa pages or tears should be replaced to avoid cancelled travel.

Things went south during boarding after the gate staff examined the pair’s travel document and declared they wouldn’t be let onto the plane because of a tea stain.

“This passenger was correctly refused travel from East Midlands to Girona (July 7) as their passport was damaged and therefore not valid for travel,” a Ryanair spokesperson said in a statement.

“Ryanair requires each passenger to ensure that their passport is valid for travel in line with the relevant requirements at the time of travel.”

A Ryanair manager later apologised and explained that the desk clerk should have never waved them through.

In March, another Aussie on her way to Bali was turned away from her flight just hours prior to boarding because of a mark on her passport.

The small tear that stopped Aussie woman Elyse Elmer from flying earlier this year.

Unleashing on TikTok, Sydney woman Elyse Elmer said that after arriving at the airport before her flight to Denpasar, she was “denied entry” because of one small mishap. There was a small tear in the spine of her passport.

“That is literally … all it took for them to totally refuse entry,” she said of the relatively small tear.

While normal wear and tear on a passport is normal, serious damage to the document can stop you from travelling.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a passport holder should replace a passport if it has more than reasonable wear and tear.

“Even minor passport damage can stop you from travelling. Damage that might require you to replace your passport includes water damage, unofficial markings on the data page, missing visa pages or tears,” the Department’s advisory website reads.

News.com.au has contacted Virgin Australia for comment.