BA stuff of nightmares

[Nickb12]

Rather than going over it again please read an email sent out of frustration, not well written or structured but was very angry at the time read to understand why



Afternoon

I'd like to inform of quite possibly the worst day of my life which should of been the start of a much anticipated Xmas holiday. I booked a package holiday with yourselves ref xxxxxxx departing from Gatwick 19th December destination Las vegas and returning to Heathrow. Check in was fine flight was on time about to board the flight at the gate that's where the drama began. Firstly the operative at the gate who I think was G4S let it be known to me that he was unhappy at the fact my passport was in a case but that was least of my problems. I'm a British Citizen born and bred and have travelled to the US twice previously in 2010 / 2011 now upon looking at my passport he notices there is an error as it says British Subject? Obviously I was unsure what that meant I've had the passport 8 years and never had any issues so politely asked the meaning of it which was met with a rude slightly IMO racist remark stating that I'm not a Brit? I pointed out it said under birthplace that I was born in Leicester and that I've never resided in any other country to which he shook his head as If I was a liar. All this time Que behind me is building people watching and as you could imagine it was at this stage embarrassing. He passes me on to a colleague who I thought would simply get to bottom of issue and let me join the rest of my travelling party. The colleague again in full public view looked at passport called via telephone somebody then coldly stated that as I was not British even though I am! That I will not be travelling on the flight and its not BA's problem as I don't have a VISA. As I mentioned to him again in full public view that I'm British I have a valid ESTA which I've used In 2 years previous he basically said not his problem and to step out the que and wait for somebody to take me to collect my luggage. I've never felt so low and helpless In my life I was treated like a criminal but this was just the start. I was left waiting at gate for an hour watching plane take off then taken to the bag collection with know one having an idea about my bag. I finally give up leave arrivals head round to departures where I find a BA rep who agrees that clearly there is a typo on passport as have travelled US before on ESTA and in order to get ESTA they check your passport number to confirm eligibility. She tried to locate my bag but apparently no trace of my bag is basically missing In the system! 4 hours later I file a missing baggage report then basically kicked out, no information about re booking no compassion no empathy no bag and no holiday. I expected a service second to none from one of the worlds leading airlines but this turned out to be a disaster on the scale that's impossible to make up. I have a meeting planned with my local MP regarding this and will also be notifying national press if this issue isn't resolved soon. I understand fully that the typo isn't your issue and I'm already taking that up with passport office but the rest of it is. Holiday of a lifetime ruined at a massive expense not to mention fuel parking hotel etc which I have receipts for.

I look forward to your response

[V_2]

Unfortunately your passport states you are a British Subject (very diffirent from Citizen). This means you need a Visa to travel to the States. BA/G4S cannot change this for you, it is the law. The fact you "got away" with it in the past is hardly a good excuse to get away with it now. Why was Subject not noticed the times before, is it a new/re-issued passport? In which case you'd need a new ESTA anyway.

It is your passport, you are the one wanting to travel, so you should be fully aware of your entitlements and travel privallages, and making sure the details are correct. But even so, the way they treated you does seem quite unjustified...

And my guess is when they offloaded you from the flight, it deletes all your bags from the system, hence why they cant find it now. Good luck getting it back

[Tableview]

There are various different types of British nationality, about 10 if I remember correctly. Most people who were born in Britain and have British parents will have a code GBR (British citizen) on their passport preceding the number, and will be entitled to travel under the ESTA.

If you are a British Subject, British Overseas Citizen, British Protected Person, or one of the other categories, you may not be entitled to travel under the ESTA. So the fact that you are a British Subject, and not a citizen, is not a 'typo' on your passport (however, read on) , it is what it says.

When you booked your ticket, you, or the agent, should have completed the APIS information in the booking and should have correctly entered the three letter nationality code.

Whilst I have every sympathy for the predicament you found yourself in, and it does not surprise me to hear that it was badly handled, it sounds as if the airline or security agent was not at fault in denying you boarding. Had they done so, they would have ended up with a hefty fine plus the costs of returning you to the UK as you might not have been allowed entry.

Please do not play the race card, but I would guess that your parents were not UK born citizens (GBR), and that they acquired their nationality through immigration. If this is not the case, it is possible that the UKBA made a mistake when issuing your passport, in which case you may well have recourse to them.

This, sadly, serves as a lesson to be careful with detail. I am afraid it is not the first time I have seen this situation.

It might be worth finding out who entered the the APIS into your booking, if you can obtain a copy of your booking it will appear somewhere in a format similar to SSR DOCP BA HK1 P-GBR123456789-GBR- and then have date of birth, expiry, and your full names.

I hope you manage to salvage something from this unfortunate situation and to have a holiday somewhere you want to go.

[Nickb12]

Table thanks for a balanced reply

No parents are English and correct on that BA perhaps were following procedure but its the way the whole thing transpired. In terms of me noticing this error it's my 1st and only passport 8 years old and I wasn't aware what a subject was/is. Spoke to passport office who albeit over the telephone admit that it's an error as I'm actually a citizen!

Awful mess but expected BA to handle things differently and offer advice etc

[edi_local]

And my guess is when they offloaded you from the flight, it deletes all your bags from the system, hence why they cant find it now. Good luck getting it back

Surely the baggage receipt given to the passenger at check in will still match the baggage tag number.

They just need to see where that tag was last scanned (probably as it was being put into a baggage bin) and then take it from there.

Deleting the baggage from the check in computer system will just result in the baggage loaders having a bag on board which is not accounted for, in which case they simply remove it from the aircraft (or don't load it if it's not yet been loaded) and leave it to the side. The dispatcher would normally alert the gate staff they have a bag discrepancy, give the tag number or name on the bag tag and the gate staff would then either see that there is a bag in the system for that pax, in which case it's fine to load (they may need to re-enter the tag number to update both systems), or they would wait to speak to the passenger involved and double check they have a hold bag checked in for that flight. This often happens with transfer passengers where one airline hasn't passed baggage details on to another, usually because their systems don't talk to one another. The bag still shows up at the next flight anyway. The gate staff simply put the bag details in to the system and once the passenger shows up the bag is loaded. If a passenger is offloaded then the bag is taken off and should end up back in the baggage hall, where the passenger should go and collect it.

This situation happens to me on an almost daily basis and I've never heard of a passenger who has been offloaded and not been reunited with their bag within an hour or so. No idea what happened in this case.

[Ancient Observer]

I have lots and lots of sympathy for the OP. What they went through was horrible.
However, no-one other than the OP is responsible for their passport.

BA is certainly NOT responsible for the OP's passport. Neither is BAA.

I'm afraid that OP has just had a most awful quick lesson..............

[jackieofalltrades]

Britishcitizenship/borninukorqualifyingterritory/ (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/othernationality/Britishcitizenship/borninukorqualifyingterritory/)

If you were born in the UK before 1 January 1983, you are almost certainly a British citizen. The only exception is if you were born to certain diplomatic staff of foreign missions who had diplomatic immunity.


Details from the UK Home Office. From what the OP says, he should be classed as a British Citizen, it would appear there is a clerical error in his passport. Frustrating what has happened for him, but the only solution (assuming he wants to travel again) is to get the passport changed asap.

[Flightwatch]

Sorry Nickb12 – you are tilting at the wrong windmill. The airlines are under an obligation, under threat of large financial penalties, to ensure that nobody travels to another country without the proper documentation. To that end, BA LGW employ G4S to make sure this happens, particularly to the USA where the fines are large.

By your own admission your passport has a typo on it, which requires you have a visa to go to the USA instead of using the visa waiver scheme.

Now it is entirely possible that the various agencies including G4S and the BA ground handlers handled the problem in a less than sympathetic and compassionate way but the fault lies not with them but the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) who have apparently screwed up. The fact that a less vigilant agent has let you travel in the past and you got away with it does not mitigate the fact that you might not have been so lucky this time. Any recourse to recompense theoretically lies with the passport office – good luck with that.

I have had similar experiences with passport checks at both LHR and MAN with my daughter and her children who live in Mexico. Both times due to their lack of a return ticket – even with a residents permit for Mexico, they were made to buy a return single ticket to the UK at full fare as the regulations said they had to have return tickets. Once in Mexico they walked around the corner to the airline ticket desk and had the tickets refunded – however the airlines had no discretion to allow them to travel if the checking agent said their documentation was not up to scratch. This happened twice out of a dozen or so occasions, illustrating the hit and miss consistency of the passport checkers. The problem has been resolved by their gaining dual nationality now.

I suggest that when you meet your MP you berate the shortcomings of the IPS rather than the various Gatwick agencies you mention and as for the press, make sure you approach those who don’t fact check too closely if you want to maintain the responsibility of blame you refer to in your post.

Good luck!

[Basil]

Different situation but another passport trap.
Entering the USA on holiday with family.
Eagle-eyed US immigration officer noted that our youngest child was officially added to my wife's passport AFTER the US visa (needed visa then) so, therefore, child was not covered by visa.
Following initial shock, all efficiently handled and one-off visa issued to child for $100 - that was her pocket money gone for a year ;)