Lost Id before Flight — What to do

Nancy R. Galindo
9 min readApr 18, 2023

In the hurry to reach the airport as early as possible, Sometimes, passengers forget to take their documents and their identities such as boarding passes, passports, flight tickets, etc.

So, in this case, a question arises what if I lost my ID before flight? Now, we will discuss the answer of this question in detail which will help you know what to do or what not to do to not worry a lot.

What to do if Lost ID Before Flight by the Passenger?

Visit to Airlines Airport Office

In the situation of losing the ID before the flight, a passenger ungently visits the airline’s office and meets with the TSA Agent and tells him in detail what has happened with their ID which is needed to get the flight.

Provide Supporting Documents

After making a visit to the Airline Office, you need to submit all the supporting documents related to your lost id which shows that you are a genuine person and your ID has really been lost.

The documents can be the debit card, credit card, School documents, Email ID, Business card, full name and home address along with lost id day before flight most importantly.

Documents Matching by Airline’s Representatives

After submitting related documents and telling everything to the airline’s representatives, the Customer Service department will analyze what you have said and work on your word satisfaction and the submitted documents match with the already given information while getting ID.

It is the most important work done by the representatives to find the reality and the belief to further process.

Issue of New Boarding Pass with a Lost ID Note

If the representatives are fully satisfied with you saying and the submitted documents and they believe that you are real then they will issue you a new boarding pass in replace of your lost one but with the attachment that you don’t have any ID and you have lost it.

These are basically steps of the process you have to do in case of lost ID and getting the boarding pass again to get the flight and reach your favorite destination on time.

Also read: What to Wear on a Plane

Do Any Travelers who Misplace their IDs have Options Further?

While taking in the consideration the misplacing of IDs by the passenger somewhere at a different place is firstly recognized by the TSA Office and after doing all the working process, the misplacing of the IDs is considered as has been lost and now, the further process is to be carried on.

What Options does a passenger have?

After recognizing that IDs have been lost, thereafter, a passenger must launch an FIR in the nearest Police Station and if there are other options available then should also use all to show it is a genuine loss.

Launch of FIR

A passenger needs to launch an FIR at the nearest Police Station where the IDs have been lost and describe everything how the IDs were lost and what happened including the day, time, place address, and everything.

Passengers have to take a Clear Photocopy of the FIR and submit it to the Airline’s Airport Office to the TSA Officer to show it as a real loss of IDs with proof of FIR.

Visit the Embassy

Another option a passenger has in case of replacing IDs related to International Flight, he needs to visit the Embassy of the related country and tell them everything about the story you faced in replacing of IDs.

After all the verification and the identification of your submitted documents earlier at the time of ticket booking, a clearance is provided through the Airline’s Airport Office with a note of replacement of IDs to travel on a flight without your IDs.

As per TSA Officer

According to the TSA Officer, in case of replacing the IDs inside the House and Outside the House, a passenger can visit the TSA Officer Department and submit School ID, Business Card at Airlines Airport Office and submit the required document with the answers to the asking Question.

It is one the oldest and the most valid documents in the favor of the passenger which is asked by the TSA Officer in case of replacing of IDs which is considered as lost and after the verification, you are allowed to take your flight without the replaced IDs and reach your destination without facing any further problems.

A passenger with the reputation of being the most ideal business person in the country and want to visit abroad for any reason and somehow replaced the flight IDs then the passenger can make a contact with TSA Officer and are asked to show some valid document then passenger can show the business card being a valid document and can be allowed to take flight by the TSA Officer after all conformation.

After submission of all these additional required documents and confirmation, a passenger is allowed to travel on flight.

With other documents Can Passengers Travel if ID is lost?

A passenger traveling with the other supporting documents in case of lost ID.

It depends on the particular Airlines rules and regulations and the given new guidelines about the passengers’ ids.

Many airlines don’t allow passengers to make any travel and the refund of the ticket in case of ID lost.

So, you need to be very informative about the Airline guidelines and careful about the safety of the documents.

What documents are Needed to Travel in Case of “Yes”.

If we frankly talk about traveling only in the yes or no reply then the answer for this is “ Yes “.

A passenger is allowed to travel to his destination with the submission of your real documents and then you can also travel with other documents instead of ID in case of lost and stolen after the Submitted documents verification from Transportation Security Administration ( TSA ).

Digital Documents

If someone says I have lost my id before flight but he has the digital form of the ID in his smartphone then what to do further?

The passengers with the digital form of documents in the phone, no need to worry about anything.

Some Countries allow the digital application to store the documents by clicking a picture of them in case of lost, forget or stolen. You can easily fly by flight after the verification from the TSA without need of any ID further.

Government IDs

Government IDs can be preferred in case of traveling in the domestic airplane. A passenger who has lost his id provided by the Airline to take flight then he is allowed to use any types of government ids such as Driving License, Green Card, Aadhar Card, Election Voting id etc.

If the Govt. IDs really show that you are the citizen of the country, then after verification, you are allowed to take domestic flights only from reaching one place to another.

In the case of a passenger of an international flight then you must need a passport to fly.

Without a passport even in a stolen case, you cannot travel by flight because every country has its different air flight rules.

Printout of Documents

Some Passengers have a habit of getting the printout of real documents because of the fear of getting lost or stolen.

In this case, if the original ID has been lost or stolen then they need to visit the Airline Office and meet with the TSA officer.

After the confirmation and the verification from the TSA officer, he will issue the new boarding pass and flight related documents then you can easily travel by domestic flight but in case of international flight, you must need an original colored Passport.

List of ID Requirements on a Flight for Traveling

It is based on the Domestic and International Flight that which document is required by the airline. Every airline has its different rules and regulations for the requirements of the documents for the flight.

But there are some common documents which are mandatory for all the passengers to carry with them in any airlines.

For International Flights

1. Passport

Passport is one of the most important required documents for international flight from one country to another country.

Without Passport no one can do international travel. You need to provide the passport to get the international flight.

2. Visa

It is the second important / essential document after a passport. It is required by every flight for an international destination.

Visa shows the number of days you want to live in the other countries.

Some countries offer the services of Visa on Arrival. In this case, you get the visa after reaching another country.

3. Boarding Pass

At the International Airports, boarding passes are given to passengers when they have done the check-in process at the Airport related to the clothesof what to wear on a plane along with other luggage you carry with yourself.

It is important for the safety and security reasons. It shows that you are a genuine person and not doing anything wrong in the Airport and flight.

4. Entry Permits

It is official and work as the entry pass to enter in any country. It means another country allows and welcomes you to enter in their country and enjoy your visit.

Entry Permit is also an important and required document asked by international airports. Without this, you cannot enter any other country in the world.

5. Health Certificate

As understood by name, the health certificate shows that you are healthy in two terms such as Physically and Mentally.

International Airlines most probably required this document to know that you are good to go to any other country with a peaceful mind and healthy body.

For Domestic Flights

1. Voter ID

It is the government ID which is provided by the Election Commission Authority of all countries in the world. Airlines require the Voter Id for the Domestic Flight.

Passengers can use the Voter ID as a proof of verification and document for the domestic flight.

2. Passport Size Photo

Passport Size photo plays an essential role to identify the passengers by looking at his face that matches with the photo.

For the cross verification and to know the genuine person, passport size pictures are mostly required in flight.

3. Driving License

It can also be a required document in the case if passengers are not able to provide the other basic IDs such as PAN Card, Aadhar Card.

Passengers must carry the driving license for verification of ticket for the flight. It should not have any mismatch in the details like name and other.

4. Digital Documents

In the case if some documents are necessary to show only to check in and other processes. So, passengers no need to carry a hard copy, they can just get the digital formation of documents to show.

In the case of lost ID and other problems, Digital documents can be required to show for verification the submitted documents.

5. Green Card

Green Card is the proof of being a local resident issued by many countries. Some Airlines asked the passengers to show green cards for the further process of traveling.

Passengers need to show that for providing the belief that you are the local resident of the country.

6. Aadhar Card

Aadhar Card can be used as the Synonyms of the Green Card because it also shows the local residency.

In some countries like India allow the passengers to go here and there within the country by flight only with the Aadhar Card, you do not need any other documents to show.

7. PAN Card

Pan Card being the important required ID by the airlines helps for the ticket verification and matching the full name, address etc.

If you have a Pan Card and use it for the transactions then it can be used by some airlines.

8. Military ID

Some Military Personnel who work in the army are provided with the Military ID which they can use to explain their identity.

Airline Respect the army and asked them to show the Military ID for amazing offers and special services to serve in the flight for them.

A passenger must submit the required documents for the domestic flights and the international flights according to the rules and regulations of the Airline asked you to submit in the Airline’s Airport Office.

Originally published at https://travelraval.com on April 18, 2023.

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