He is denied permission to fly because his passport is still valid and loses $1,500

A resident of Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, Maurice, had a very unpleasant surprise when an airline refused to allow him to board a flight because his passport was due to expire in six months.

Jean-Francois Vigneault was at the boarding gate when his vacation in Peru came to an abrupt end. “They told me, ‘You can’t board. My passport is valid until March. But they told me, ‘You have to have six months of validity to let you on board’.”

The traveler realizes it was his fault: he didn’t check Peru’s requirements before leaving. The omission cost him more than $1,500 to quickly renew his passport and purchase a new plane ticket.

Mr. said that the rules should be clear when buying the first ticket with the airline. Vigneault loved it. “They told us ‘No good! It’s up to the consumer, it’s up to the citizen not to ignore the law’. Effective! But when we enter our passport, I think maybe there’s a little thing to check that says, “My passport is valid for six months”. Or they We get told, ‘Oops! Your passport doesn’t have the right date for you to come,'” said Jean-Francois Vigneault.

Don’t take a chance

For Barbara Paquin, owner of Voyages Charterama, the six-month rule applies to all her clients. “We are not taking a chance, we are asking for six months,” she explained, noting that some countries are demanding less. But often, mistakes happen because people play themselves as travel agents!

CAA-Quebec spokesman David Marsille also recommends doing business with professionals. “Travel Advisor is really knowledgeable about the subject and can send you all the documentation ahead of time.”

The long queues in front of Service Canada offices seen during the passport crisis are a thing of the past. Deadlines in the Trois-Rivières office are now more reasonable, according to Barbara Paquin. “I’ve seen people get it in less than two weeks. Most often, they guarantee a month. But I can tell you that it’s very fast, good service.

Hours before leaving for Peru with his new documents in hand, Jean-Francois Vigneault wanted to do something useful with his testimony. “I realized a lot of people don’t know!” He said, travelers are advised to check the expiry date of their passports before planning a journey.