LIM WAN JIE (:

Passport blunders leave S'poreans stranded


SINGAPOREANS are a negligent lot when it comes to passports, travel agents told The Straits Times on Wednesday.
It is not common for travellers to make a mad dash to the airport with the wrong passport, some said, but added that,more often, they show up at the airport with expired passports or without the required visas.
Some forget their passports altogether.
Travel agencies contacted by The Straits Times say they make it a practice to call travellers before their flights with reminders to pack their passports and check that everything is in order.
Despite this, one in 10 will goof up every month.
At least one travel agency, Hong Thai Travel, has briefed its employees to be more vigilant about passports following an incident on Monday in which a 61-year-old retiree cleared all checks at Changi Airport's Budget Terminal after having mistakenly taken his son's passport.
He realised the error during his flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
Upon arrival and informing the Vietnamese authorities, he was immediately put on a return flight here.
Agents said passengers without travel papers in order inconvenience others. Some cause flight delays; a number miss their flights altogether.


Personal response :
I feel that one should not be fined when they brought the wrong passport when checked in. He can not be blamed to have being so blur because it is just a misunderstanding. Most people can be so blur until when the passport is overdue , they do not even know. Until they reach the airport, realising that passport have already expired , then it is just too late. However , one should be responsible to check for their own belongings to prevent flight delays. I hate flight delay because when i am in beijing, the flight was delayed for 3 hours. How bad could it be when you can actually do nothing in the plane but just to wait.