Tue Nov 16, 2021 4:49 pm
#1882957
GrahamB wrote:I’m not sure I want to rock up to an airfield where there’s only a fallible machine* to decide whether or not I can go landside.
*On a couple of occasions I’ve had to be manually processed at Gatwick when Robbie the Robot fails to read my passport.
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The electronic chip has failed on my passport, which means that the scanners at most airports can't read it automatically. Gave me quite a bit of grief going in / out of the USA and to South Africa - in both places the border guard examined the passport very carefully using a magnifying glass (presumably thinking it was a false document. I got in and out ok - just a little delay whilst they checked that it wasn't a forgery. My wife however was not please with the attention I was getting from onlookers.
I spoke to the passport office - and they won't replace it until it expires and I buy a new one.