The much-awaited Christmas holiday season is here for your once-a-year trip to visit the family in India or the US. You scoured the Internet for cheap flight deals and secured the best one for your upcoming travel months ago. Your check-in bags and cabin bag are almost packed. Just imagine you arrive at the departure airport only to be denied boarding by the airline. Isn’t it the worst nightmare for you or your elderly parents who are eagerly waiting to be with you?
Airlines can legally deny to onboard passengers for a number of reasons, though flying between USA and India is easier these days. Travel Beats, a leading Indian Diaspora and travel news portal by Indian Eagle, guides you through the most common reasons for denial of boarding to international flights, so you can avert this travel mishap.
SSSS Code on Boarding Pass
‘SSSS’ stands for ‘Secondary Security Screening Selection’. If this code is printed on your boarding pass, it means that you are one of the few randomly selected passengers who will have to undergo additional TSA screening, which ranges from a full body scan and a thorough examination of your carry-on and other personal items to rigorous questioning.
If anything is found or believed to be suspicious, there are high chances that you are denied boarding. SSSS-tagged passengers are categorized as high-risk travelers by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Some regular flyers often find themselves subject to this extensive screening. It’s unclear as to how one is flagged for this extra security screening, but one possible reason could be your name matching with someone on the watch-list or no-fly list.
Passenger Name Mismatch
To err is human. But an error in your name on international flight tickets may incur a loss. If the spelling of your name on the ticket doesn’t match with the one on your passport, you will be denied boarding straight away. When you receive e-tickets, make sure to review your name and other details in the e-tickets before it is too late. If your name is incomplete (for example, the middle name is missing) or misspelt in the e-tickets, contact your travel agency or the airline for correction. However, passenger name correction in confirmed air tickets is easier said than done.
Some airlines consider name correction requests, while some airlines don’t entertain. The customer support team of IndianEagle.com does better guide travelers in such events. Some airlines allow correction of passenger names by cancelling and rebooking tickets within 24 hours from the time of booking. If your name has legally been changed through marriage, divorce, etc., make sure that you get your passport reissued with your new name.
Inadequate Visa Arrangement
Inadequate visa arrangement is a common ground for denial of boarding to flights to USA or India. Acquiring only a US visa may not secure your travel if the itinerary involves two Schengen layovers or transit between two Schengen countries. The Schengen area mandates a transit visa for Indian passport holders with such itineraries. In June 2022, four USA-bound Indians were not allowed to board the flight as they did not fulfil the visa requirement for transit via Paris and Amsterdam.
A layover exceeding 10 hours at some international transit airports requires an airport transit visa that helps Indian nationals avert denial of boarding. Having an expired/invalid US visa and not having a transit visa during return journey to India via Europe make another premise for airlines to deny boarding to Indian passport holders. There are several other visa-related scenarios of boarding denial.
Bookmark this international transit visa guide for your hassle-free travel
Expired US Passport
What if your US passport expires during your vacation in India or a foreign trip? You are under the wrong impression if you think that you can travel back to the US with an expired passport. Though this regulation for US citizens was relaxed during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was reinstated in July 2022. Since then, they have been barred from using their expired US passports for direct travel to the United States. It is strongly recommended you contact the US Embassy in Delhi or the nearest US Consulate for passport renewal in order to avoid being denied boarding.
Visa Overstay History
Overstaying a non-immigrant visa in the US is one of the reasons for denial of boarding to flights to USA from India. If you overstayed your B2 visa in the US, a 3-year or 10-year ban on your re-entry to the US (depending on the number of days you stayed beyond the authorized period) will result in boarding denial to you. The US-bound airlines refuse to onboard such passengers given their visa overstay history. In general, H1B visa overstay has similar consequences including denial of boarding for revisit to the US for a certain period of time. Any violation of the US immigration norms and any degree of involvement in illegal activities are also among the reasons for denial of boarding.
Admission into Colleges under Scrutiny
Certain developments out of your control can also affect your travel at the last minute. In a rare event in 2015, 19 Indian students were barred from boarding the Air India flight to San Francisco from Hyderabad soon after the airline received an important update from the US authorities. Reportedly, the two universities that those students got admission to were under scrutiny, because of which other students who had already travelled to San Francisco were also sent back to India. Air India stated that it took this step to avoid inconvenience to the students and also processed a full refund to them. Hence, students seeking admission into foreign universities should beware of blacklisted educational institutions.
Boarding Denial to Expecting Women
Can airlines deny boarding to pregnant women? Yes, they can if expecting women passengers are in an advanced stage of pregnancy or not fit to fly due to some complications. There are different airline policies for them. However, many airlines onboard pregnant travelers until 32 weeks of pregnancy, provided they are medically fit to fly. Some airlines restrict the flying permit after 28 weeks.
Delta Airlines has the most generous flying policy for expecting women passengers. Air India flights between USA and India mandate basic medical documentation for flying until 32 weeks of healthy pregnancy. On the other hand, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines, and American Airlines have a rigid ‘flying during pregnancy’ policy that applies starting from the 29th week of pregnancy. Precisely, the airline rules vary depending on whether the passenger is pregnant with the first baby or has a history of miscarriage.
aviso- germany is not friendly toward indians* upon arrival i wanted to call my mum in birmingham and airporttt required me to ha pfennings- i only had a 20pound note-