Great news for both those who are on time and those who aren't.
Airports fine airlines which delay departure because they are obliged to stop to offload luggage of people who are late or lost their passport. Now an airline is investigating and researching ways of putting a tracing chip on passengers to tell them how far they are from the departure gate and how long it will take to get there. The clever device even allows for dawdlers and those delayed dragging along a heavy suitcase or a baby and two toddlers.
You won't delay others nor miss a flight. Others won't delay you.
Next microchip your passport, so you can find it lost behind the chest of drawers, left in a suitcase, hidden under a cover, left on the back of a dining chair, in the hotel's safe.
It's also great news about being able to copy your passport onto your phone and show it.
Has it affected you? You probably think it hasn't. Until you make a list of the time you have had a problem.
Here's my list of lost passport and airport and flight mishaps:
1 It's not just airports that have delays due to lost or missing passports. I was on a cruise ship that got delayed when a passenger decided to swim out to the ship. It took longer than anticipated. When he reached the ship he was denied boarding. His passport was with his wife. We were all delayed, ship and of course crew and passengers.
2 I left a passport in a neck bag, having from one of the two upright posts on a dining chair at my au pair girl Caroline's family's house. We reached the tunnel from France to Italy and my family could not go as they could not leave me behind at the border.
3 Today a family on their way to the USA was turned back from an airport because the family members do not have the new style biometric passports.
The same thing happened to me. I missed my flight. Had to get up at dawn next day to get a new passport and rush to the airport, very stressed, arriving just in time to catch the next day's flight. Meanwhile my meet and greet person at the New York state area had already departed to join a press group in another city. (AlsoI left my UK phone was not working in the USA to link up. Luckily an American bystander passer-by let me make a local phone call on their phone to say I'm now at your local airport, which train do I take to meet you?)
4 I was asked to remove the passport hanging round my neck and put it in a tray at security when leaving the US airport for London, Heathrow. I picked up my clothes and shoes but left the passport behind. On the plane I realised I'd lost it. Ignoring the protest of the stewardess that I could not leave the plane I shouted and rushed off. Security had closed. My passport was now upstairs in lost property. I rushed upstairs. The security man was busy dealing with another customer. He told me to wait. I shouted, "You're making an entire plane wait - you've got my passport!" He asked me if I had any identity. I told him, "No - you've got my passport. Check my picture." I then had to race back. I arrived back on the plane, gasping for breath, heart beating like bong drums, hoping for some soothing remark. My husband glared, "Don't ever do that to me again." I tell this story as an amusing speech at Toastmasters International.
Passport tracking would have prevented this episode.
Next we need a warning that you have a flight tomorrow. I get this now by email from Singapore Airlines. That would have saved me missing a fabulous press trip to Venice. I mistakenly assumed the flight was on a working day, Monday, when it left on Sunday. I arrived at the airport on Monday to find my flight was the day before.
I just gave my family this good news about tracking apoeple at airports. I got the following humorous responses:
"Yes, dear. The airport will tell you: 'If I were you I'd book the following flight.' "
I replied, "Yes. It will send messages like Monopoly boards: Get out of Toilets. Do not pass Perfume Shop."
Further replies: "Your wife is by YSL."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3576091/BA-app-mean-never-miss-flight-Passengers-told-time-gate-location-airport.html
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
Airports fine airlines which delay departure because they are obliged to stop to offload luggage of people who are late or lost their passport. Now an airline is investigating and researching ways of putting a tracing chip on passengers to tell them how far they are from the departure gate and how long it will take to get there. The clever device even allows for dawdlers and those delayed dragging along a heavy suitcase or a baby and two toddlers.
You won't delay others nor miss a flight. Others won't delay you.
Next microchip your passport, so you can find it lost behind the chest of drawers, left in a suitcase, hidden under a cover, left on the back of a dining chair, in the hotel's safe.
It's also great news about being able to copy your passport onto your phone and show it.
Has it affected you? You probably think it hasn't. Until you make a list of the time you have had a problem.
Here's my list of lost passport and airport and flight mishaps:
1 It's not just airports that have delays due to lost or missing passports. I was on a cruise ship that got delayed when a passenger decided to swim out to the ship. It took longer than anticipated. When he reached the ship he was denied boarding. His passport was with his wife. We were all delayed, ship and of course crew and passengers.
2 I left a passport in a neck bag, having from one of the two upright posts on a dining chair at my au pair girl Caroline's family's house. We reached the tunnel from France to Italy and my family could not go as they could not leave me behind at the border.
3 Today a family on their way to the USA was turned back from an airport because the family members do not have the new style biometric passports.
The same thing happened to me. I missed my flight. Had to get up at dawn next day to get a new passport and rush to the airport, very stressed, arriving just in time to catch the next day's flight. Meanwhile my meet and greet person at the New York state area had already departed to join a press group in another city. (AlsoI left my UK phone was not working in the USA to link up. Luckily an American bystander passer-by let me make a local phone call on their phone to say I'm now at your local airport, which train do I take to meet you?)
4 I was asked to remove the passport hanging round my neck and put it in a tray at security when leaving the US airport for London, Heathrow. I picked up my clothes and shoes but left the passport behind. On the plane I realised I'd lost it. Ignoring the protest of the stewardess that I could not leave the plane I shouted and rushed off. Security had closed. My passport was now upstairs in lost property. I rushed upstairs. The security man was busy dealing with another customer. He told me to wait. I shouted, "You're making an entire plane wait - you've got my passport!" He asked me if I had any identity. I told him, "No - you've got my passport. Check my picture." I then had to race back. I arrived back on the plane, gasping for breath, heart beating like bong drums, hoping for some soothing remark. My husband glared, "Don't ever do that to me again." I tell this story as an amusing speech at Toastmasters International.
Passport tracking would have prevented this episode.
Next we need a warning that you have a flight tomorrow. I get this now by email from Singapore Airlines. That would have saved me missing a fabulous press trip to Venice. I mistakenly assumed the flight was on a working day, Monday, when it left on Sunday. I arrived at the airport on Monday to find my flight was the day before.
I just gave my family this good news about tracking apoeple at airports. I got the following humorous responses:
"Yes, dear. The airport will tell you: 'If I were you I'd book the following flight.' "
I replied, "Yes. It will send messages like Monopoly boards: Get out of Toilets. Do not pass Perfume Shop."
Further replies: "Your wife is by YSL."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3576091/BA-app-mean-never-miss-flight-Passengers-told-time-gate-location-airport.html
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
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