A BRITISH tourist was forced to miss his wife’s 50th birthday celebrations after
Nick Bryant was due to travel to Bali with his family for the celebrations.
The couple, now based in Australia, arrived at Sydney Airport for the trip with their three kids after booking a big holiday on the Indonesian island.
However Mr Bryant, author of The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict, was told he wouldn’t be able to board his flight – because of a small tear in his airport.
After trying to board the Jetstar flight, staff asked if he had another passport he could use.
He told Sydney Morning Herald: “Mine had a minuscule tear on the photo page, barely visible to the naked eye.”
Other staff were then called over to assess the damage, before taking a photo and sending it to the Indonesian authorities.
Indonesia has extremely strict rules when it comes to damaged passports.
Airlines can be fined thousands for every passenger who arrives in Bali with any kind of passport damage, with travellers reporting being turned away since 2019.
Despite pleading with staff, they came back and said he was not allowed to board.
His wife and kids still boarded the flight, with Mr Bryant heading back home to try and get an emergency British travel document to board a flight the next day.
However, he was told these aren’t accepted in Indonesia, one of the few countries not to.
And despite trying to get help from his contacts in the travel industry, he was told there was no way to get to Bali in time for the holiday.
He said: “The only way to get into Bali on a British passport was to fly back to the UK, wait about a week for a new one, and then travel halfway back around the world.
“I’d make it into the arrivals hall in Bali just as my wife and kids were heading towards the departure gate.”
His family were forced to come home early to celebrate their birthday in Sydney instead, slamming the “unhappy experience”.
Mr Bryant isn’t the only person this has happened to his year.
Elyse Elmer due to fly to Bali from Sydney back in April due to a small tear in the spine of her passport.
She said on social media: “I cried in front of everyone. That tiny tear was all it took for them to refuse entry.”
She ended up getting an emergency passport and flew two days later.
Passport Rules
Everything you need to know about passports
And last year, passenger John Hammond was detained at the airport after staff questioned him regarding his damaged passport.
Here’s another travel destination that also has strict rules.