I am going on a 1month vacation to europe so I booked a flight to europe with air europa and a return flight to the US with condor (tickets were booked separately). When I showed up at the airport, air europa demanded to see proof of onward travel so I showed them my booking with condor. The condor booking had a confirmation number, filekey, receipt showing payment, flight number, etc. However it did not have a 13digit "ticket number" and the lady at the air europa desk insisted that without this I could not board the plane. She said it was a gov regulation and could not be bypassed. After searching frantically for a 13digit "ticket number" and not finding it, I called condors helpline and they told me that they are a ticketless airline and do not actually issue a ticket until right before the flight. They told me there is nothing they can do and that this is the first time they have heard of a booking confirmation not being enough. I have flown many times (including with condor) and this is the first time for me as well that a booking confirmation was not enough. So with all this bullshit I missed my flight and I am now grumpy and not in Europe. To make this even more ironic I actually hold dual US and EU citizenship and have 2 passports, but at the airport I only had my US passport since I did not forsee needing my EU one. To my fellow travelers, have you heard of anything like this happening? Which airline fucked up here? Also air europa is a european company and I am an EU citizen. I know that the EU has pretty strong consumer protection laws. Is there somewhere I can file a formal complaint and maybe get some restitution out of this fiasco?
Why they don’t let you stay in Europe even if you are Europe citizen ?
I only had my US passport with me so I was in effect traveling as a US tourist. You are correct that if I had my EU passport with me I could have used that and not had to show proof of onward travel
Lol don't fly condor
Why didn’t you buy a ticket right then and refunded it later within 24 hours?
This too!
I wasted too much time going back and forth with condor and air europa so by the time I realized the impasse it was already too late. Also what guarantee do I have that the new ticket will have an actual ticket number not a "booking confirmation"?
Ouch! That's nasty. Tells us not to travel with another country's document if you have a local one. In fact, US doesn't like it's citizens entering the US with foreign passports either. I remember reading that it could be grounds for revoking citizenship if you're a naturalized citizen.
That’s what I was thinking too. Why wouldn’t you bring both? It makes sense to only bring the US one if you’re going to a third country/area.
I dont like bringing extra stuff because it is just one more thing you can potentially lose and I couldnt imagine a scenario where my US passport wasnt enough
Most airlines will give you a big pop-up telling you that you need proof of return travel... They just want to make sure you aren't illegally moving there. Europe has some VERY strict immigration laws. I'm surprised they wouldn't take the Condor info... Usually they just do a curaory look at your app or travel plans... I've even gotten through with an unconfirmed ticket, since I hadn't picked a flight yet.
that sounds like extraordinary incompetence on the part of the first airline
You were flying to EU why wouldn’t you take your EU passport with you? Just for the convenience of not having to wait through custom line with a US passport would’ve been worth it in my book.
If you’ve US passport it should have never been an issue
Wtf