Teenage girl, 17, is detained and deported from Bali in a five-hour ordeal because of a SMUDGE on her passport, after being told she was fine to fly by airline staff in Australia
- A 17-year-old girl will be deported from Bali due to a smudge on her passport
- Mackenzie Hill was headed from Melbourne to Bali with her mother on Saturday
- Airline staff had checked the passport as they boarded and said it would be fine
- On arrival in Bali a customs officer dragged the teenager to a holding room
A 17-year-old girl was dragged away from her family by airport staff and will be deported from Indonesia due to a smudge on her passport.
Mackenzie Hill was headed from Melbourne to Bali with her mother on Saturday for a relaxing break at the start of the school holidays when it suddenly turned into the trip from hell.
Her mother Julia Smethurst Hill told Daily Mail Australia her daughter’s passport had been checked by Jetstar staff as they boarded the plane.
And they had been told they would be fine to enter the country despite the minor damage.
Mackenzie Hill (pictured left) was headed from Melbourne to Bali with her mother Julia Smethurst Hill (pictured right) on Saturday for a relaxing break at the start of the school holidays when it suddenly turned into the trip from hell
A 17-year-old girl is set to be deported from Indonesia due to a smudge on her passport (pictured)
Mackenzie Hill (pictured in a holding room at Denpasar Airport) was dragged away from her family as she tried to enter Bali. She is set to be deported due to a smudge on her passport
‘Jetstar staff said they wouldn’t let her on the plane if they didn’t think it would be acceptable in Bali as they would incur a fine,’ Ms Smethurst Hill said.
But after waiting for over an hour in a customs line at Denpasar Airport, the teenager was dragged away by airport staff.
‘They took her away without me,’ she said.
‘I had to run after them to see what was happening, she is still a minor at 17.
‘A customs officer didn’t say much, he just sat on his phone. I asked what was happening they said she isn’t allowed to stay in Bali.
‘Mackenzie has traveled with the smudge in the corner of the passport and no one has ever said anything. She traveled on the same passport to Bali last year and other Asian countries.
‘The fact that the customs guy just walked her away is scary.’
Mackenzie Hill (pictured) was looking forward to spending a week in Bali with her mum when their holiday was cut short because of a smudge on her passport
Mackenzie Hill was taken to the holding room (pictured) before deported back to Melbourne on Saturday night
The teenager was put in a holding room as she waited for a flight back to Melbourne.
Ms Smethurst Hill said the pair will return to Melbourne on Saturday night after spending at least five hours waiting in the airport.
A Jetstar spokeswoman said: ‘We are speaking with our airport team to better understand what occurred at check-in, however this is a matter for Indonesian Customs’.
The schoolgirl has been one of dozens of Australians turned away at Denpasar Airport in recent months with only minor damage to their documents.
A major crackdown by the Southeast Asian country also fined airlines US$5,000 (AU$7,131) for each passenger denied entry under the strict rule.
British couple Daniel and Tia Farthing saved more than $7,000 for their dream honeymoon only to be denied because their dog chewed the groom’s passport.
They said British Border Force staff told them the document would be fine as his details were intact, but Indonesian officials disagreed and sent them home.
Another passenger said he was blocked from boarding a Batik Air flight on Christmas Day over his nine-year-old passport.
Other travellers on social media described being denied entry over minor water damage, creases, and small scratches on their passport.
However, others sailed through with much worse damage, pointing to the policy being interpreted differently by individual officers.