British yoga teacher stranded in Bangkok airport over passport tear

[OJAS]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile, Viscomi has managed to secure a new flight and emergency travel documents, hoping to return to England on July 9.

 

Any follow-up as to whether she actually made it on to a return flight to Blighty yesterday?

 

[RonJr]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

 

A British yoga teacher was stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport after being barred from boarding her flight home due to a slight tear in her passport.

 

The British woman, 27 year old Rosie Viscomi, had planned to fly back to London from Bangkok last Thursday, July 4. However, she was prevented from boarding her £370 (approximately 17,000 baht) multi-stop flight, which included stops in India and Turkey, after airline officials objected to a 1-centimetre rip on the photo page of her passport. This unfortunate turn of events left Rosie crying at Suvarnabhumi Airport as IndiGo Airlines staff refused her passage.

 

The dance and yoga teacher from Norfolk had been on the Thai island of Koh Pha Ngan since April, after completing her yoga qualification in India.

 

During her stay, she engaged in voluntary work and deepened her yoga knowledge before deciding to return home. Despite having reportedly extended her visa just days prior, Viscomi was informed at the airport that her visa had expired, rendering her stay illegal.

Frantic and fearing arrest, the British traveller spent the last few days liaising with Thai immigration and the British Embassy to arrange her safe return, which has already cost her hundreds of pounds.

“When I went for my flight on Thursday, they said ‘You’re not going anywhere with that,’ referring to a small rip in my passport.

 

 

“They told me India won’t let me in and I need to book a direct flight from Bangkok to London. I missed my £370 flight and had to apply for emergency documents. I don’t have any money left.”

 

Viscomi, who had previously travelled to America and Jamaica without issues, was shocked by the sudden enforcement.

 

“I didn’t know if they were going to arrest me because I didn’t have the correct stamp. I was at immigration just crying, and everyone kept saying there was nothing they could do. I thought I had all the right visa documents. I just want to go home.”

 

The yoga teacher’s family has stepped in to help with the financial burden. Viscomi’s sister has set up a fundraising page, which has raised £280 of the £1,000 target so far.

 

Meanwhile, Viscomi has managed to secure a new flight and emergency travel documents, hoping to return to England on July 9. IndiGo Airlines has been contacted for comment, reported The Mirror UK.

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of Kennedy News and Media

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-07-10

 

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INDIA IS THE WORST COUNTRY TO FLY THRU! 

They enforce the most ridiculous useless un-important rules and don't understand practical sense, it's even worse when you arrive it's almost third world. How can some people be so fckn stupid?

[bananafish]

If this happened to me, the #1 thing I'd try to ensure, is that my mug and personal business stayed out of the news. 

[Sheryl]

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Appears she was on overstay, also.

 

This  part is unclear as it also says "having reportedly extended her visa just days prior",

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Omg, are you an adult that has a passport? 

 

 

Can you tell 100% that your passport does not have any damage or a tear in it ? 

 

I travel as frequently as you do and just like you my passport is the single most important document I hold - without it I can't travel to work and would lose money.

 

BUT... I cannot tell with 100% certainty that my passport has zero damage - I'd have to go and specifically inspect it and this is not something normal people usually do.

 

I cannot tell with 100% certainty that my passport does not have a slight tear in the ID page. 

I can't say I've ever inspected my Passport for damage - and if there were any damage, noticing it would be nothing more than luck unless the damage was obvious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

34 minutes ago, ryandb said:

 

Good for you, my stepdad does Sea defense work 3 months on 3 months off and the money is insane, I run my own business but sometimes wish I'd have followed him into it, less stress (but hard work when out there) and the work is always out there

I'm not interested mate. 

 

Get yourself a job on an offshore drilling rig. 

Travel the world 

 

My rotation is 28 / 28 

When my rig travels to Thailand, my company organises my working visa in Thailand, I'm paid US dollars (yes $US, not Thai baht) in every country I work my taxes are paid by my employer. 

You won't find these benefits in any other industry. 

 

I'm on salary, my company organises my fights and accommodation, I get paid every month of the year, I'm given 1st class medical, my retirement fund is bloating.

Best decision I've ever made working on the rigs. 

 

 

[Old Croc]

2 hours ago, renaissanc said:

She didn't know about this beforehand, but if you have a tear like that one, get it glued very, very carefully with a drop or two of glue and then ironed flat so it doesn't show. 

Tampering with a passport is a good way to get yourself in difficulty.

Modern security features are designed to highlight attempts to interfere with laminates, passport pages or stitching.

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Help from strangers not the family?

 

It is clearly stated that the family has helped. And the family has set up the fund me page -- a common means to easily coordinate contributions from friends and relatives. Maybe the odd stranger also donates, maybe not ,but it is by far the best way to arrange/coordinate contributions from full circle of extended relations, friends, acquaintances etc.

 

For some reason the mention of these pages drives some AN board members nuts.

[SAFETY FIRST]

I've said what I had to say. 

 

I'm not here to get into an argument with every swinging dick regarding this woman's Incompetence. 

 

[Surasak]

3 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   She would have needed a visa to get into India and that a likely reason why she wasn't allowed to board the flight .

   Same thing happened to a woman on my flight from BKK , she had to change flights in India but didn't have an India visa so she wasn't allowed to board the flight 

No visa on arrival at India, then?

[hitext]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I wonder if it was ripped on arrival?

 

I've heard of several reasons for not allowing someone to board, but a small rip, seriously? IMO there is something missing from this story.

 

Perhaps the main takeaway from this is if you are skint, don't go on holidays to foreign countries.

 

I had the same issue returning from Dubai a couple of years ago. At BKK, they made a big fuss about a similar small rip along the seam of my worn, 9-year old passport. It had never occurred to me that this would be an issue. I pleaded very nicely and the guy eventually agreed to let me in...as long as I promised to get the passport replaced asap.

[Captain Monday]

Fortunately mobile boarding passes have near eliminated the problem of ground staff and security agents careless pen marks on passports when they make the now proven to be stupid and useless scribbles on boarding cards

 

While rudely using our most important document, the photo page of our passports as their writing surface.

 

A detestable practice.

 

 

[FritsSikkink]

"The yoga teacher’s family has stepped in to help with the financial burden. Viscomi’s sister has set up a fundraising page, which has raised £280 of the £1,000 target so far."

 

Family stepped in to help with begging.

[charleskerins]

29 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Omg, are you an adult that has a passport? 

 

OMG  yes.

[charleskerins]

14 minutes ago, hitext said:

 

I had the same issue returning from Dubai a couple of years ago. At BKK, they made a big fuss about a similar small rip along the seam of my worn, 9-year old passport. It had never occurred to me that this would be an issue. I pleaded very nicely and the guy eventually agreed to let me in...as long as I promised to get the passport replaced asap.

"OMG are you an adult with a passport"     555

[charleskerins]

27 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Can you tell 100% that your passport does not have any damage or a tear in it ? 

 

I travel as frequently as you do and just like you my passport is the single most important document I hold - without it I can't travel to work and would lose money.

 

BUT... I cannot tell with 100% certainty that my passport has zero damage - I'd have to go and specifically inspect it and this is not something normal people usually do.

 

I cannot tell with 100% certainty that my passport does not have a slight tear in the ID page. 

I can't say I've ever inspected my Passport for damage - and if there were any damage, noticing it would be nothing more than luck unless the damage was obvious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

makes sense

[charleskerins]

1 hour ago, In Full Agreement said:

 

 

I may be in the minority on this but I wonder if you're being  a bit overly harsh on the young lady?

 

that's what they do on here     probably why they are in Thailand  rejected at home.

[Surasak]

I don't do air travel like I used to. However, this is one reason I strongly object to staples being use to attach papers into my passport. Although knowing how some immigration officers handle passports, even using a paperclip could cause damage. For instance, is really necessary to staple the 1900B receipt onto a page of the passport, also the 90 day report receipt? It is after all, a defacement of the passport.

[newbee2022]

1 hour ago, Jimjim1 said:

Think about who of us regularly

Me 👍

[Muhendis]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

However  India being India, while you do not go through Immigration or need an Indian visa ,  you do have to go through a byzantine labyrinth in which you must present your passport and boarding passes several times to get into the departure area.

Yep.

That's the Indian way.

Same happened to me at Mumbai. What a dark dismal place that was.

That was at the time of the Icelandic volcano eruption quite a few years ago.

I somehow doubt there has been any improvement.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Yep, if she arrives in India and refused entry the airline must return her to Bangkok. 

 

No need for the tears, it's her own fault. 

 

She was transiting India, final destination London... she was not going to enter India, unless it was a long stop-over?

[Muhendis]

33 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

For some reason the mention of these pages drives some AN board members nuts.

 

That'll be the ones that are slightly less than stable who don't really understand much.

[Surasak]

2 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

Doesn’t sound like a British name.

That is not so unusual, and more so over the past 20 years!

[Burma Bill]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

I didn’t know if they were going to arrest me because I didn’t have the correct stamp

 She did a visa run to Cambodia and returned with the wrong stamps????

 

Full story here:

 

https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/24441633.british-passport-warning-woman-barred-flight-home/

 

I will let you make up your own mind.

No further comment from me.

[eastlight]

Have you ever tried to encash a foreign banknote with the slightest tear or blemish.

[SAFETY FIRST]

12 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

She was transiting India, final destination London... she was not going to enter India, unless it was a long stop-over?

The article just said stop 

 

Transiting wasn't mentioned 

 

 

[Old Croc]

53 minutes ago, Hugh Jarse said:

 

Absolute pettiness and appalling a 1 cm tear..

 

Hard to tell exactly from that bad pic, but to my trained eye there is more damage to the passport than she is stating. The laminate appears to have been lifted at the top and there may have been an attempt to remove the page itself. It appears slightly off centre. I'd like to check it under a microscope.

I don't blame the airline for refusing to carry her, particularly with her ticketing transiting other airports.  She would probably have been ok on a direct flight home.

Her story about having an extension, without evidence in the document nor the department's computers, would only be believed by the very naive.

A quasi spiritual, skint, overstayer working illegally, lies, tampers with His Majesty's Passport and begs money from others gets no sympathy from this poster.

 

[rtco]

5 hours ago, Dr. Zorg said:

 

To top it all, now the whole world must "chip-in" to go-fund me.

So what. My you are so empathetic. Let's see if you ever get caught out with an unresolvable problem and don't have the cash to get it sorted. These things happen unexpectedly especially a slight tear in a passport.

[StandardIssue]

If the you think the budget US airlines I bad and can't imagine what it's like to fly on a budget Indian airline. Gawd!!!

 

They age of budget airlines is upon us and wow, what a crappy way to fly. Charges for everything... if you'd like a meal that will be extra... flying with baggage? Well that will cost you buddy! Next they will be weighing everybody. Mark my words... I believe there will be weight class ticketing and scales at check in. Please step on the scale sir to verify your weight class. Ah sir you gained a few pounds since you bought your ticket... too fat sir that will be an extra 50 Bob.

[Surasak]

Who is telling porkies her? 

"Despite having reportedly extended her visa just days prior, Viscomi was informed at the airport that her visa had expired, rendering her stay illegal."

If such was the case, how did she acquire the emergency travel document?

Sounds like the check-in staff have made a big cockup? Much as appreciate there was a tear on the passport, it wasn't defaced as such. But low cost airlines are possible more careful?