Last weekend I booked a flight from Toronto to Rome because I’ve always wanted to see Italy and the flight prices weren’t terrible.I’d had a bit of a lucky weekend one one of those slot apps called jackpot city or something so I figured why not do something for myself. I was so excited about finally doing something impulsive and fun that I spent the whole week planning what I’d see, bookmarking nice spots that I saw on tiktok and I even learned a few basic Italian words. So I go at Pearson, checked in online and I’m feeling great (it would’ve been my first time in Europe btw). I get to security, reach for my documents and my passport isn’t there. It’s sitting on my desk at home.
I never ever felt so shit. I had planned every fucking thing like everything clothes places that I’ll go to every detail, but to this day I have no idea how did I forget my passport. There was no time for me to go back to my house, pick it up and run back so I missed the flight. Tomorrow morning I had to rearrange a trip for later this month and cancelled my days off from work and pushed them for further up this month.
TL;DR: forgot my passport for my flight
Comments
How isnt passport the number one thing on your packing list?
I am so glad my parents ingrained their document paranoia in me. I check that I have my passport at least 5 times between leaving home and checking in for the flight. I also get to the airport multiple hours too early in case security lines are long, much to my wife’s dismay.
Passport, credit cards and a phone are the essentials. Everything else can be replaced when you get there.
Been there , done that.
My son-in-law discovered his passport was expired the night before they had booked a flight to the Cayman Islands.
Passport/Visa, wallet, phone. And getting to the airport extra early in case of issues.
I am so sorry – that is one of my recurring nightmares! I bought a passport cover with an AirTag holder. I used the AirTag normally attached to my house keys. Totally worth it when travelling so you know where it is on your trip.
Hmmm. you’d think someone that’s Canadian would be much more comfortable/knowledgeable about carrying a passport. At least do what I do for US Canada trips and use my passport card that fits neatly in a wallet and isn’t as bulky, hell I’ve used my passport card for Sweden without problem so I’d assume a fellow EU member in Italy would also let you use it instead of the big one. All in all it’s a crappy lesson to learn, sorry for you.
That’s terrible. I’ve always been so stressed when going to the airport for an international flight because I checked for my passport like 10,000 times.
Then I worry about maybe I drop the passport when I pulled it out the last time so I have to check it again
This is also not the worst story I’ve ever heard about not having a passport.
Many years ago, some relatives of mine that live in Toronto, I live in the US, came to visit us. They flew in. It was an older couple in their adult son.
Long story short when they went to fly back to Toronto, the customs agent at the airport, discovered that the dad did not have his passport. The third passport they had belonged to his wife’s sister. Apparently they flew into the US with the wrong passport, and the agents never picked it up when they came in.
What had happened was about six months prior. The wife had traveled overseas with her sister, and had held onto both their passports. When they left for the airport to come to the US, she saw the two passports with a rubber band around them and assumed it was her and her husband’s forgetting about her sister‘s trip.
It was a whole kerfuffle. He could not fly and had to leave the next day. His son had to drive his correct passport back to the airport after they got home and it was sent on a flight the next morning. So we had to go to the airport to a customs office and pick up this box that had his passport in it so he could make his flight the next day.
Whenever I travel, I always think of this moment from Absolutely Fabulous. Eddy had got ready for her trip hours in advance and had been smugly waiting for Patsy to finish up everything before they could leave.
https://youtu.be/OCDd7hl3tLw?si=A-9Y5JxdHSwlJ-V3
Tickets! Money! Passport!
These days all you need is your phone and your passport (not even the latter if it’s intra-EU travel), and I don’t even know why passports aren’t digital yet.
Just wanted to say, i’m so sorry, that really sucks.
This was my honeymoon. Except I didn’t forget it, I thought I didn’t need it! I knew exactly where it was, called my sister immediately and she was able to grab it and book 50 minutes down to the airport to give it to me minutes before boarding completed.
How did you not have to show your passport at the check-in/baggage drop desk? I fly between USA and Sweden 1-2 times a year and always have to show my passport before even going through security.
Ouch, that’s a gut-punch, but you’ll crush it in Rome soon!
Sorry to hear that, wouldn’t getting the next flight be better than having to lose the whole trip? Or was the return flight and hotels cancellable?
My parents taught me the PPP rule: Passport, Piljett, Pengar. Also, the rule is in bad swedish because it rhymes better that way. (Meaning is passport, tickets and moneys)
I check my passport so many times on the way to the airport, I’m paranoid. Also another reason that I like to me very early to my flight, in case there is some screw up, i have a chance at sorting out in time to board.
Heh I have two stories. When I was a kid living in Ireland we went on a road trip to France. Drove. Took a ferry from Northern Ireland to Scotland. Drove south through Scotland, all of England to Dover. Took a ferry to France. Oops, my dad forgot the passports. Took ferry back to England, drove to a relative’s house while my Dad flew from London back to Ireland to get our passports.
We only ended up a day behind on our trip but with a lot of extra expense! We’ve not let my Dad forget that for 40 years 🙂
Second story I was living in London and flying to Germany. Got to airport, had forgotten my passport. Fortunately I had a local taxi company drive my passport to the airport and I was able to take a later flight.
Now I am obsessed about ensuring we have passports. Literally the last thing I lay eyes on before leaving the driveway to get to airport.
My friend’s dad and brother died this way. They were at a major airport for an intl flight and somehow one of them forgot their passport. They actually lived some 150 miles from that airport. So they hired an “air taxi” company to go back and get the passports, the plane crashed as it was landing. As I understand, my friend was waiting at the small airport with the passport.
Not sure why they both went back in their town, instead of one, but…yeah…
Let me just add this phone wallet keys
Get a clear zip lock bag tape it to the back of your front door!
….. And every single document including plane ticket if you magically have a print out or write the ticket ref number when you purchase it…. Is in that bag that you can physically see with your eyes that you keep in eyesight or on your lap if your driving yourself!
Wow…
Can’t you get an emergency passport at the airport? Oo
That is pretty standard in Europe – just expensive
Just curious, do you have ADHD by chance?
literally happened to my friend this past winter for her first trip to new zealand omg … she sent a message asking for any ideas on how to get her passport from her dorm room to the airport by six am… we live four hours away by train and the first train out from our town only leaves at 5am 0_0 … it sent chills through my body and then i woke up the next day to visit her place and get her passport to her (she was able to get a flight to a different country for the next day but she was sooooo looking forward to this trip T_T) … it absolutely scared the rest of my friends and i straight for our winter break travels