These are the failures that happen at the check-in desk, and they are not recoverable. A visa in hand is not sufficient if your passport or your routing does not comply.
Six-month validity
Most countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months beyond your intended date of return. Some require six months from date of entry. A handful — including much of the Schengen area — require three months beyond departure from the area.
The critical point: the airline enforces this at check-in, because they carry the cost of returning you. A passport expiring in four months will not board, regardless of a valid visa.
Blank pages
Many countries require two or more entirely blank pages, and "blank" typically means both sides of a page with no stamps at all. Endorsement pages usually do not count. Travellers with heavily stamped passports are refused boarding over this more often than you would expect.
Airside transit
The rule most often missed. Even without leaving the airport, certain nationalities require an airport transit visa for certain countries. Indian passport holders transiting several European hubs need one depending on the airport and whether they change terminals.
It depends on three things together: your nationality, the transit country, and whether your routing requires re-clearing security or changing terminals. Check it against your specific itinerary — a general answer is not reliable.
Separate-ticket connections
If your journey is on two separate tickets rather than one through-fare, you will usually have to clear immigration and re-check your bags at the connecting point — which may require a transit visa you would not otherwise need, and which will not be waived because the delay was the first airline's fault.
Onward travel evidence
Several countries require proof of onward or return travel at check-in as well as at immigration. On a one-way ticket you may be refused boarding without it, even holding a valid long-stay visa.
What we check before ticketing
- Passport expiry against the destination's specific rule
- Blank page count
- Transit requirements for every intermediate point on your actual routing
- Whether your itinerary is a single ticket or separate ones
- Onward travel evidence where required
It takes a few minutes and prevents the one category of travel failure that cannot be fixed at the airport.
