Sean and his girlfriend were ready to board their flight to Bali… but Virgin Australia stopped them at the gates over a ‘microscopic’ passport detail

A young couple’s tropical getaway was almost ruined because of a ‘microscopic’ coffee stain on one of their passports.

Sean Ferres and his girlfriend Brooke were set to fly from the Gold Coast to Bali on Friday.

Virgin Australia staff stopped the couple and said they could not board the plane because there was a coffee stain on the passport belonging to Mr Ferres’ partner.

Staff claimed the document was ‘unreadable’ but said they could take another flight at no extra cost once the issue was sorted out.

Mr Ferres explained his partner had travelled to more than 20 countries – including Indonesia – with the passport and the stain had not been an issue. 

The pair were told to call customer support about rescheduling their flight.

However Mr Ferres claimed he was then told by the phone operator that the couple had been marked as no-shows on the scheduled Bali flight, so they would need to pay for another flight. 

Mr Ferres said he was forced to buy ‘stupidly expensive’ Jetstar tickets for $3,000 in order to secure a flight for 5.50am on Saturday and salvage their holiday.

Mr Ferres explained the stain had not previously been an issue and claimed his partner had travelled to more than 20 countries – including Bali – with the passport 

Mr Ferres said in a Facebook post that Jetstar had no problem with the condition of he passport, unlike Virgin. 

‘Funnily enough, Jetstar didn’t have an issue with the passport, just like the 100+ other flights we’ve taken with it,’ he wrote on Facebook.

‘Landed in Bali, all e-gates and straight through with no hassles.

‘Absolutely blows my mind that 25 years after the invention of the internet – in an age where even a $500 phone has advanced facial recognition – we STILL rely on a flimsy a** piece of paper to leave the country.’

The social media posts divided opinion with some less than sympathetic.

‘If that’s “microscopic”, then I’ve got a 12 incher,’ one wrote about the coffee stain, which was about six centimetres by two centimetres. 

‘If you’ve got the money to fly to “20+ countries including Bali TWICE” then you’ve got the money to replace your damaged passport,’ a second added.

‘For someone that’s travelled 20+ countries, have you stopped once and read passport rules, entry rules, and risk of denial of entry,’ a third said.

‘Even if there is a fold in the passport, it can be declared as damaged and invalid.’

After a two hour delay they were able to hop on the new flight without any hassle from staff or crew about the damaged passport

Mr Ferres insisted nobody had ever questioned the passport before so he had no idea there was anything wrong with it. 

‘So we’re going to completely ignore the fully functioning electronic chip on the inside and invalidate a passport based on a tiny stain,’ he asked. 

‘Why would we replace something we didn’t know was ever an issue?’ 

Bali has some of the strictest passport rules when it comes to the travel documents having any tears or water damage, as such issues can be used to disguise tampering done in cases of identity fraud.

In 2019, an Indonesian Consulate General spokesman in Sydney said that the general rule regarding what constitutes a damaged passport is when its data cannot be read by the system.

He added that the final decision lies with immigration officers.

‘Among the criteria for the damaged passport are tears, ink blurs, water-damage – therefore you had better keep good care of your passport.’

Indonesian authorities can detain travellers and fine airlines more than $4,700 for allowing anyone to fly with a damaged passport. 

Daily Mail Australia contacted Virgin Australia for comment. 

Passport damage and the law

Aussie travellers should check their passports (pictured) are in good condition

Normal wear and tear to your passport shouldn’t be a problem. More serious damage can stop you from travelling.

If you’re not sure about the condition of your passport, call the Australian Passport Office on 131 232 or contact your nearest Australian embassy or consulate overseas. 

It’s important that: 

• there are no tears or cuts in the passport pages, especially the photo page
• everything on the photo page is legible and clear
• there are no marks across your photo or in the Machine Readable Zone on the photo page
• no pages have been removed
• there is no alteration or tampering

They may need to see your passport to assess it.

Source: Australian government