avflyer

So Saturday night I am checking in for my flight to AMS. Booked M and had the Z upgrade at booking. Plenty of time at checkin in JFK - no one on line. I approach the counter and hand over my passport. After doing a few computer button presses and lookups, the agent turns to me and say "I am sorry Mr. AVFlyer, but you cannot board this flight. You will not be flying to AMS."

Stunned, I ask why and was told it was a passport issue. Now I know my passport is good into April and I was planning to renew upon my return from this trip. Apparently AMS has a requirement for US citizens (perhaps others too) flying into her that states the passport must be valid for 3 months from the date I was planning on leaving AMS. Apparently other countries have as much as a six months limit. Suffice it to say that from now on, I will simply assume that my 10 year passport will last only 9.5 years.

So I asked the agent what my options were. She suggested that on Monday I could get a new passport issued - which was not an option as I am here for a tradeshow (which was setting up on Monday). They also offered up booking me on the Brussels flight which was leaving 1.5 hours after the AMS flight. Apparently Belgium has no such 3 month regulation. Also the Dutch don't mind that you train, drive, bike or walk into Holland with a US passport that has less than 3 months on it. You just can't fly into Holland. FWIW, I can fly home and the agent mentioned that you could even fly out on an expired passport - they have to take you.

My thanks (and a letter will be following) to the excellent agent and supervisor in JFK. They reissued my ticket and waived the fees. Most important, the supervisor also got me a BE seat. As we all know, DL does not offer day of departure upgrades and this change was most definitely on the day of departure (5:00ish for the 7:10 flight). I also impressed myself by staying cool, not ranting, and simply looking for the best possible solution. The agents mentioned they were grateful that I didn't implode.

Just yesterday, I ran into a colleague flying on another airline BOS-AMS and her expiration date is the same as mine. She was not denied boarding so this is obviously only enforced if they bother looking at the local rules during checkin (which the DL agent did do). She agent did point out that not only might the airline get fined (heavily) if authorities in AMS catch this, but that at DL now, the attending agent will be singled out for the infraction so you can't really blame them for looking.

All in all, I had a nice flight (great crew, food, drink). I opted to rent a car in BRU and drive to AMS as I had too much stuff (show related) to drag onto and off connecting trains that were running only on a Sunday schedule. The first best 11 Euro spent was on the GPS system. The second best 11 Euro spent were on the three coffees I needed along the way.

Greetings to all from AMS.

sammy0623

you're lucky you made it there! the best explanation i've heard for th 6 month rule (never heard of 3) is that if you were to be delayed or something in leaving, you'd still have a valid passport to go home? i don't know if i fully agree with this, because if you had a delay, for some kind of emergency, wouldn't you be able to get a new passport from abroad??

Boston_Bulldog

That's one of the reason(s) WHY we have U.S. embassies and U.S. consulates abroad ...

clarence5ybr

Reminds me of my first visit to France (mid 1980s). At the time, US citizens needed a visa for any length of visit to France, and I spent nearly an entire day in London getting the visa at the French embassy. Because I entered France by train from Belgium instead of flying in, nobody even checked to see if I had a passport, much less a visa.

OpieGr

This validity of the passport requirement is not uncommon. Some countries stipulate three months while a lot require your passport be valid for six months beyond the anticipated departure date from their country.

The U.S. has similar regulations regarding the passport (for foreign visitors) which need to have six months remaining.

AndyTLe

The 6 month rule is what I've seen for many countries. It is just easier to renew early, when you don't have travel plans for a few weeks, rather than not being able to catch a flight.

IRISHFLYER1

Had a nightmare last Thursday, 2:00am in a NYC bar (well oiled) after finishing the AHREXPO. My wife was to arrive from Dublin on a BE award ticket for the weekend the next day. My Mobile phone rings, she informs me that they would not let her on the Plane in Dublin (7:00am) as her 4 year old British Passport was not machine readable!!!!. YIKES!!!

managed however to get the 90,000 miles and the €14.80 Tax back. Check our early from the Hotel, and change my BE upgraded M class to fly back Friday night for €150. If she had got to New York, she would probably have spent €10,000, so maybe it was a good thing!!!!!

PS. I was one of 4 in the 36 seat BE Cabin.

donsig

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...s/cis_982.html

Mr. Vker

Is there an "earliest time" that you can renew? For example, if I had no pending international travel, could I renew 1 year before expiration?

BingoLoco

I had to get 2 day renewal because of this, last week. Came home from one trip, paid like $500, had a passport in 2 days, left again. I used passport express.

My wife's new passport took about 10 days, on normal expedited, which was much cheaper.

BingoLoco

I think it has to be within a year of expiration, unless there is a special reason to do so like damage.

AndyTLe

I don't know when the earliest renewal date is, but it is pretty easy. I renewed this past Fall, 9 months out. Took 2 weeks for mine (probably a bit longer for most people) and was completed by mail.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get...renew_833.html

DlRes

Costa Rica is another country that requires your passport to be valid beyond the stay date (don't remember if its 3 or 6 months) .

RobertS975

The whole passport thing is a bit of beaurocracy at its finest. I mean one can cross borders by land all over Europe without so much as anyone even stopping you.

And what is so magical about an expired passport? It just means you didn't pay your $$$ to your government. Do you suddenly cease to exist if your passport is expired?

And visas are another way of extracting $$$ from the traveler.

soitgoes

So far as I know, you can renew whenever you like. (You have to submit your old passport and they will cancel it before returning it to you.)