My Boomerang Passports
Last night at Heathrow Terminal 5 we had another of my epic screw ups even though this time it was not really my fault. Everything was going so well with the self service boarding pass and check in followed by the bag drop off.
The bag drop off we had paid for an extra suitcase the day before prior to arriving at the airport. If you are going to be over weight it is just cheaper to put another suit case through. The one bag was 26.5 kg's and clearly over weight which would have cost 60 GBP and by having the extra bag we could shove things around. We actually didn't buy much except for a couple of items which may or may not be a new line for work.
When you are always looking for something new not in our market you have to act fast and these were a set of weights weighing 10kg's on their own. The extra bag was a cheap suit case and the cost for the extra 23kg's was 90 GBP. The 3.5kg's costing 60 GBP vs the 23 kg's costing 90 GBP is a no brainer.
I digressed a bit here and back to why the passports went AWOL at this point. The extra bag we thought we had paid for was not reflecting and the check in lady/supervisor took the passports to double check if the extra bag was reflecting on their system somewhere. It wasn't so I paid the extra 90 GBP and the bags were tagged and sent on the conveyor.
I was none the wiser that she had not given the passports back and with the boarding passes we went on our way. I thought granny had them as she has the special bag we carry the passports in and at this point there was no stress. You pass through the security check point and no passports were required. In South Africa you pass through immigration and at Heathrow on the way out you do not.
Having no clue that there was a potential problem we spent 4 hours in duty free and in one of the airport lounges. Eventually it was time to go and move to the gate to board the plane and only then did the hunt start for the passports. We searched the special passport bag and my SA passport was there but granny's and my British passport was nowhere to be found. At this point we were a little fooked. Literally seconds after breaking into a cold sweat our names were called over the tannoid system to come to the boarding gate and we knew exactly why. There was no upgrade coming and they must have our passports. They had our passports and we boarded first which was a bit of luck and do not recommend this tactic. The supervisor at the baggage drop off had sent them through and my lucky boomerang passports that I some how always misplace on my travels returned again.
Last year in France I lost them twice in just a few days and I am just not used to carrying bags around with me. I would rather not be in charge of them because guaranteed I will screw up and maybe next time I will not be so lucky.
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Yikes, that sounds like a nightmare. At least you go lucky and got them back. I still have my passport floating around in one of our safes, but I think it is well expired. I actually had hair back when the photo was taken.
A hairy bozz lol. Don't ask me how, but they always seem to come back. Passports last 10 years and I always keep mine up to date for the just in case. The States is big so you do not really need to travel outside the borders.
Yes, that is very true. I do live pretty close to Canada, but we have a special enhanced drivers license in Michigan so you can cross the border without a passport.
My wife is too organized for this to ever happen to us. If it would be just me, despite my excellent discipline and organization I suspect I could be easily in the same boat as you. Though I have only US passport to keep track of.
I am in this boat too often and keep telling the other half not to let me touch them.
That must have been a stressfull moment indeed. It is not always easy to keep track on things at the check-in with all the hassle with the bag. For sure if you assume that, like always, you do get the passports back with the boarding passes.
It is easy to do if they do not hand everything back.
One day you're going to lose your head. Losing your GB passport would have cost you an arm and a leg again.
"and do not recommend this tactic. " LOL!
I know that was crazy for a moment when they weren't there.
I hope you got your money back where you paid the extra the first time.
I've never been outside the US, so have never had a passport.
You must travel and should be on your bucket list to just experience something new. This could inspire your art and culinary skills even if it is just a short trip some where. With the Dollar you are lucky and it would seem cheap for you.
It looks as though the transaction never went through the first time. It was a very brief moment and the calling us was perfect timing. Literally not even 30 seconds after it was obvious I did not have them.
Years ago, someone may have convinced me to go outside of the US, but these days, I'm not sure I could be convinced.
Glad the "crazy" didn't last long.