A good warning for next time, just cut that page out, or would they count the number at Etihad too?
I was already not a fan of that airline.

Yes, I know they are very strict about complying with passport rules. That reminds me of my brother, who thought his daughter should also be included in his passport and filled it in himself. That was, of course, declared invalid.

7 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

 

Your  comment relies on your own personal assumptions, and obvious  inexperience with air travel and its regulations..

False Assumption No. 1: Thai immigration  closes down.

Fact: Thai immigration is a 24/7 operation 365 days of the year, and its international service center does not close.

There is no benefit for the airline to "save face" with the position that Thai immigration was consulted. The claim can be verified, and if the airline is found to be lying, has serious consequences.

 

False Assumption  No. 2:  There is a definate benefit to the airline to throw a couple people off, for frivolous reasons, if there was over-booking.

Fact: The flight was on Tuesday, October 7.   Have you looked at the airline schedule and passenger loads?

If you had, you would have seen that on an annual basis, passenger loads are below 87%. The 87% includes high season when flights go out at 100% load.   The flight was midweek in low season, so the passenger load was most likely closer to 70%. This means that there was little if any likelihood of a denied boarding because of over booking.  Even if overbooked, the airline offers 2 wide body flights daily, and would have rebooked the next day without need of cooking up a conspiracy that you claim.

 

It is observed that some people offer claims of conspiracy because it is easier to deal with their invented reasons than the  reality which they find uncomfortable.

 

He never claimed immigration closes down; he said there's no immigration present 24/7 at Manchester airport. Your contradiction is incorrect.

 

You're contradicting his statement that the airline has an interest to deny passengers if there's overbooking with annual stats. Your stats don't contradict his statement; plus it's incorrect to conclude something about this flight based on these stats.

10 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

A good warning for next time, just cut that page out, or would they count the number at Etihad too?
I was already not a fan of that airline.

“ just cut that page out “

seems like sound advice 🙄

I'm waiting for the first story that has someone being refused service because facial recognition software doesn't recognize them as being who they are.I notice my banking app that uses facial recognition doesn't recognize me if I ve left my beard untrimmed for 3 to 4 weeks if Im making an over 50,000 baht transaction.Tells  me to remove face covering.

1 minute ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

“ just cut that page out “

seems like sound advice 🙄

There are other languages in the world besides English, so perhaps the wrong spelling is being used.

On 11/23/2025 at 8:17 AM, watchcat said:

 

Thy''ll not miss much compared to Phuket.

That's right. there are also wild bunches of Russians in Cyprus....       

14 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I've dealt with difficult airline staff in the UK and they can be outrageous jobsworths and you don't have a leg to stand-on... 

In my case it was about pooling luggage (with my family, all with the same surname) - I was slightly over 5kgs - others in the party were 10 kgs under - the airline (easyjet) forced me to pay for 5kgs excess and would not allow pooling !!!

You can buy a small hand held digital scales to check the weight before you get to the airport. Especially useful if you are bringing back more than you went away with and are unsure of the weight.

Better to keep a passport in a plastic Ziplock type storage bag. Minimises the risk of water damage.

On 11/23/2025 at 7:30 AM, daveAustin said:

Bit ott but any sort of damage nowadays, even a slight tear to a blank page, and it can invalidate a passport. Not really down to the airline (they already checked with Thai imm), since if he was refused entry into Thailand, they’d have to fly him back. He should go after his insurers but could be sticky. 
 

I’m really careful with mine now. Had a mild panic attack when it almost hit scrunched up in a pocket recently.  Have also noted that immigration don’t staple TM30s and reports anymore. So easy to tear a page when taking them out.  

I have mine in a leather bound passport folders to protect it and when not in use it’s in my safe I have dual nationality so I always carry both passorts  for example if I was visiting Vietnam I would use my UK passport as it’s visa free where if using my Irish Passport I have to pay for the visa 

On 11/23/2025 at 3:47 AM, quake said:

Sounds a bit over the top by the airline.

Not nice.

etihad airlines the friendly airline,lucky he didint have his hand chopped of for wasting ethihad time

Airlines have the right to decide who travels, or not, on their aircraft. The airline can incur substantial fines and other costs if a passenger is refused entry.. They have a right to question damaged passports or visas if they have concerns.

It seems they followed procedure in seeking an answer from Thai Immigration about acceptability.  The negative decision was made by Thailand, probably from someone  not at the front line at the arrival airport. It's easier to just say no to a message from the departure country than if the passenger and document can be examined first hand.

If the passport is expired or damaged the onus is on the holder to fix it. The world is full of criminals and scammers using bogus documentation to cross borders.

ProTip: Plastic passport covers, like the old book covers, work wonders

22 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

In this digital era, we shouldn't even be dealing with paper passports.....go all digital and let us carry just a simple credit card size passport with an embedded digital chip inside.

How would you check that the immigration officer has given you the correct "permission to stay until" stamp?

On 11/23/2025 at 7:30 AM, daveAustin said:

Bit ott but any sort of damage nowadays, even a slight tear to a blank page, and it can invalidate a passport. Not really down to the airline (they already checked with Thai imm), since if he was refused entry into Thailand, they’d have to fly him back. He should go after his insurers but could be sticky. 
 

I’m really careful with mine now. Had a mild panic attack when it almost hit scrunched up in a pocket recently.  Have also noted that immigration don’t staple TM30s and reports anymore. So easy to tear a page when taking them out.  

Yes they do, I have staples in mine.

On 11/23/2025 at 3:19 AM, Georgealbert said:

 

Picture courtesy of The Mirror UK

 

A British groom was prevented from boarding his flight to Thailand for his honeymoon after airline staff flagged damage on his passport. Josh Reekie, 31, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was due to travel with his wife Eden on a £2,400, honeymoon but was refused boarding by Etihad Airways at Manchester Airport.

 

The airline cited water damage on a 2019 Thailand entry stamp as the reason, despite Reekie having used the same passport on 12 previous trips without issue. “It felt surreal walking into an airport and then being told to leave without flying. We were so stressed after spending all that money,” Reekie said.

 

Eden’s passport was valid and the couple had booked a two-week TUI package to Phuket. After the boarding denial, TUI cancelled their accommodation and return flight, forcing the couple to make alternative last-minute travel arrangements to Cyprus.

 

Reekie obtained a new passport within two days but continues to seek refunds from both Etihad Airways and TUI. He criticised the airline for showing little empathy, saying passengers save all year for trips and deserve a second opinion.

 

Etihad confirmed the refusal, stating the passenger’s passport did not meet entry requirements due to visible water damage. The airline noted consultation with Thai immigration authorities and emphasised that British passports must be machine-readable and fully intact, including no water damage, torn pages, delamination, or illegible details.

 

The Daily Mirror reported that Reekie is pursuing compensation and advised other travellers to check their passports carefully before flying to avoid similar issues.

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• A British groom was barred from flying to Thailand due to water damage on a passport stamp.

• TUI cancelled the couple’s accommodation and return flight, forcing last-minute alternative travel.

• Etihad Airways confirmed the refusal, citing Thai immigration rules on passport integrity.

 

Related Stories

 

Scotsman-detained-in-Thailand-after-ex-flags-passport-as-stolen/

 

 

 

 Adapted  by  Asean  Now from Mirror 2025-11-23

 

 

 If we are required to have PP with no water damage, torn pages etc then it should be required that all visas, stamps and similar use water resistant ink & papers. 
 

additionally… immigration official should never ‘Staple’ documents to any pages (this is technically Defacing the PP) and use a system that reduces of additional documents…. 🫣

 

My picture page of my current PP has staple marks added by a local IO for a TM-30. I was able to gently remove the staple & relocate the doc to a new page. 
 

There really should be an International standard for PP as the current system is not inline with strict requirements set by airlines, IOs and more. 
 

Perhaps the embedded chip can also carry travel visas & history that synchs with the database. I personally do not like an all digital system (error prone) but the traditional PP / entry-exit system is also prone to errors as displayed by the OP. 
 

cheers

21 hours ago, Emdog said:

since when is passport required for domestic US flights

It's not, but if you don't have a state issued Real ID compliant drivers license or ID card, then a passport is one of three alternate forms of ID required to pass through TSA checkpoints

23 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

If the story is it is ... i feel there are way too many jobsworth airline assistant workers in the Uk at the moment

Yes, absolutely, it looks the 'water' damage' was to a previous stamp, not the details page, it makes zero sense!

Damage to an old stamp? That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. 

On 11/23/2025 at 3:19 AM, Georgealbert said:

 

 

 

 

The water damage appears to be in the opposite corner and damage may be worse on the other side. News reported by the Mirror may not contain all the [dull important, facts

Usually you find this level of incompetence at smaller regional airports in the UK, the staff have very little experience of people travelling further than Spain so are worried about making a mistake and the airline getting shafted for thousands of dollars returning the unwelcome guest back home.

 

You can kind of understand their predicament, they are shafted either way. You would however think that they would at least have a competent supervisor around to make the final SENSIBLE decision.

 

Take care of your passport!

 

My wife and me used to fly UK to China regularly, but almost every time the UK staff would only board us as far as Thailand (My wife is Thai ) as they were terrified of us being refused entry in China due to my wife's passport being in her maiden name but her China visa had her married surname, both the Thai and Chinese immigration found this hilarious, and had no intention of refusing entry.

I flew into HK yesterday from Thailand and noticed the Thai travellers in front of me all had their passports in clear plastic covers

19 hours ago, Will Iam Not said:

Embed the chip on the person at birth. 

No doubt being seriously considered. Maybe already !

I wonder if one of those pet scanners can be used?

Maybe a human size cat flap chip that lets in - not out would be good for Alzheimer patients in rest homes?

Must be a positive in the concept somewhere?

19 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Dumbo, why take the risk

Because,Dumbo, he had travelled on it 6 previous occasions without issue. Why would he think that would suddenly change? 

Hoist with your own petard. 

    This is really a ridiculous rule that needs to be modified to at least allow travel to proceed while the passport is perhaps flagged or stamped to be replaced with a time stipulation.  I know about it, having read other stories like this, and every time I go through Immigration, as the agent carelessly flips through the pages, I hope he or she doesn't accidently tear a page or do some other damage. 

20 hours ago, Bagwain said:

Quite a few years back I was travelling out of Thailand. Immigration pulled me up and grilled me over water damaged Thai stamps. I argued that it rains in Thailand & I could help it. After 10 min they made me sign another entry card and let me out. D/heads.

They pulled me in and asked me if I had a Thai wife ! Too many entries they said. I said I’m retired and just go on holidays a lot. As regards the Thai wife I laughed and said no way … she would take all my money ! They laughed too and have a nice holiday. 

20 hours ago, Bagwain said:

Quite a few years back I was travelling out of Thailand. Immigration pulled me up and grilled me over water damaged Thai stamps. I argued that it rains in Thailand & I could help it. After 10 min they made me sign another entry card and let me out. D/heads.

well, you got out, so guess that is the main thing... hmm... if they didn't accept pport, they make you stay in Thailand forever and ever? Death, where is thy sting?

One (maybe only) thing I liked about my old US passports is that they were built tough. Mine went thru washing machine at least once no problem...

Well, the airline has to ensure, that the passenger can get off and enter the country of destination. If not, the airline has to take the passenger back to the boarding point on the very first departing flight, irrespective of who pays for the return trip. 

Possibly a little picky, agreed, but could have been avoided by replacing the passport after that humidity/water damage. I had a Thai immigration officer who corrected a date stamp in my passport by using liquid paper to re-stamp the correct date. I insisted on getting him to officially cancel the wrong stamp and affixing a correct stamp below. Upon arrival back in my home country the immigration officer there was clear and said, that in my own interest I would want to change the passport as liquid paper beautification in a passport tends to go down badly. 

1 hour ago, potless said:

How would you check that the immigration officer has given you the correct "permission to stay until" stamp?

 

They got this wonderful new thing called the internet, check it out.

On 11/23/2025 at 7:47 AM, quake said:

Sounds a bit over the top by the airline.

Not nice.

You have to bear in mind that if an airlne accepts a doubtful passport upon check out and the passenger is denied entry on arrival the airlne has to pay for that flight back to where they came from .That's why they have to be very careful at check in.