Long Weekend trip to Prague

[oxfordfowler]

Well Thursday 18th May saw the good lady and myself off to Stansted for a long weekend in Prague. What could be better nice hotel booked, short cheap(ish) flight, fine architecture and beer cheaper than water.

 

Early start Thursday - 90 minute drive to airport. Arrived in good time car parked through the queues for passports and scans no prob on the plane and away at 08:00.

 

Arrived at Prague Airport when it all went wrong. In the queue for EU passport scan - No bloody passport. Christ where is it, we have two boarding cards but just the good ladies passport. OK search everything, so there we are on our own (everyone else has gone through) contents for our bags and stuff spread around. My passport is nowhere to be found.

 

OK so of I go to one of the police officers who by now are watching us. Explain the situation to him (good job they speak English) but nevertheless still police officers and well armed. They take away boarding pass and off into an office - go and sit in that corner they say. Along comes a colleague do I have any other ID, so now they have my Driving Licence.

 

After sometime later guy comes back - someone is going to search the plane. Later still - plane is now sealed and cannot be searched until after 14:00hrs. So we wait.

 

Stuck in a foreign airport with no passport - I can tell you that you do start to worry.

 

 

Eventually at about 15:00hrs - plane has been searched no sign of my passport. Oooh er Mrs so what happens now then. To my surprise I not carted off to be held and shipped back to the UK as soon as. They give me a Czech crime report for the Embassy so that I can apply for a temp travel document and show us out of the airport through the flight crew door. It's now 16:00hrs. The Czech Police we very polite obviously they have a process to follow but all in all very good.

 

So next day (Friday) off to the UK Embassy in Prague (it's buried in a narrow back street up by the Castle) it took some finding. Knock on the door explained via intercom what I wanted and let in. I was dealt with by a very helpful local staff member who could not have been more helpful. Various forms filled in fee paid(£100) 2 hours later I have a temp travel document - fantastic.

 

Off sight seeing and Beer and food. Had a very nice couple of days.

 

So Sunday back to the UK - trouble is at every point I now have to go through the "naughty boys" queue in Prague and Stansted but at least I got home OK. Just have to get a new passport now.

 

 

So quiet a memorable weekend.

[Me matt]

What happended to your passport from getting on plane to getting off of it 🤔

[jpigeon3]

I'm just reading your post whilst sipping a Tom Collins, in the hotel bar in Prague. we came Friday ( without as much drama ). Glad you got it sorted, as the stern looking armed police do seem a tad intimidating.

[Danger-Mouse]

What happended to your passport from getting on plane to getting off of it

 

Well that is the million dollar question isn't it?

 

It could be that a rather sinister crow by the name of Stiletto stole the passport with the intention of Oxford Fowler being arrested and held in Prague until June 4th thereby depriving the south of one of it's better shots for the charity shoot.

 

But I have no idea who would know how to contact such an individual and arrange such a dastardly plan.

[Me matt]

 

Well that is the million dollar question isn't it?

 

Isn't it just?

[Jaymo]

Passport would have been checked at the 'gate' in STN.

So it's gone between there and your arrival at Passport Control in Prague.

 

See it many times per year and often it's been mislaid or placed within a magazine etc in a bag which either gets discovered later or gets binned on the the flight/via cleaning services.

We tend to find that the Aircraft cleaners on discovering items such as this tend to alert the Crew asap.

 

Did you try ringing London Stansted and speak to them? They would put you through to various places such as Border Control, Menzies handling ( Airline dependant) or Lost Property.

Sometimes despite being located items do tend to take a while to be found.

 

Glad you had a good time there- wonderful place with something for everyone

[oxfordfowler]

Had both passports and boarding cards - as checked several times going through Stansted plus the usual bag scanning. There is no way you can get on a flight without one. When we arrived at Prague only the good ladies passport and both boarding cards could be found.

 

The flight was full and as is the way these days everyone has their one piece of "hand luggage" plus cameras and (the female passengers) handbags. Once on the plane the overhead lockers are quickly filled up so that the last 10 or so to arrive end up squeezing stuff into already full lockers or moving stuff about. That is ?? when/where the problem occurred - who knows. Am not at all sure how thorough the search would have been - personally I think Ryan Air will find my passport in one of the over heads.

 

Had I dropped the passport as we embarked or disembarked any number of the other passengers could not have failed to see a it on the ground.

 

The Embassy staff cancelled my lost passport as part of the process of issuing a temp travel document so the old one is useless now anyway. Just need to apply for a new one now.

 

 

So the "Northern Monkeys" dastardly plan to keep me away from the Charity shoot has failed thanks to the efforts of the Embassy staff in Prague

[Mungler]

I always worry that a passport in a coat pocket, with the coat going in an overhead locker during the flight is an easy grab for the light fingered. They of course would have been first off the plane I bet

[four-wheel-drive]

I have always thought that things like bank/credit cards driving licenses and passport's should have a hole in the corner so that you can hang them around your neck out of sight under a shirt or top as it is so simple for them to go missing or be stolen from bags or pockets.

Edited May 23, 2017 by four-wheel-drive