Family issue passport warning after being stranded at airport following 15 hour flight

A family have issued a warning over passports and visas after they were left stranded in an airport following on from a 15 hour flight.

The issue happened after the long-haul flight from the United States, with a family of four denied entry in to the country they were travelling too over a technical issue over their paperwork.

With millions of people viewing the videos, they have become a viral sensation in their own right, with numerous updates posted as more and more information trickles out from the impacted group.

TikToker Mailan (@mdaniels28) posted on to the social media platform a week ago, with the video showing her hand placed over her mouth as she walks around a departure lounge before catching a connecting flight.

Writing over the video said: "Travelled 15 hours already just to get told our visas are denied."

Mailan added: "My sister has a hyphen in her legal name and they won’t allow it and decided to tell us five minutes before boarding halfway across the country already."

The family were travelling from Chicago in the USA to Vietnam; a journey that on average takes 18 hours or so. Having done the majority of the journey with just one flight left, Mailan was told that she would not be allowed to continue.

An issue you would want to avoid (Getty Stock Images)

The reason? Her passport and visa didn't match up.

But according to the group, that was through no fault of their own. Instead, it was a technical error out of their hands, Mailan said.

She explained in a follow up clip that her sister's name is hyphenated on her passport. Unfortunately, the visa application to get in to Vietnam legally doesn't let you use special characters such as a hyphen, Mailan explained.

Due to the names not matching up, Korean Air did not let the party board the next stage of their journey.

Mailan says: "Everything was fine when we got checked out of Detroit. They checked our visas, passports, bags.

"We were in contact with Vietnam - the people in Vietnam that were figuring all that stuff out - originally, when we applied to get the visas. And they said, we’re all good."

Mailan couldn't believe they got denied boarding (TikTok / mdaniels28)

Thankfully for the family, the issue was eventually resolved via Delta Airlines who Mailan said offered them a 'full refund on everything'.

The issue caused a fair bit of anxiety among people commenting. One said: "I have a hyphenated surname and now I'm scared."

A second echoed this person's issues, saying: "I have a hyphenated last name and it rarely allows me to use the hyphen when I fill out plane ticket information. I just leave a space in place of the hyphen and pray for the best."

And a third said: "As someone with a hyphen name when doing legal paperwork it’s a pain."

Ultimately, if you're concerned double and triple check with your airlines over any issue you think you might have with a hyphenated name, your passport, and visa. And try and take proof of these conversations with you on your journey.

A Korean Air spokesperson said: "The destination airport immigration office, not the airline, has the authority to approve a passenger's entry.

"The passenger was deemed ineligible for travel based on the immigration office's decision due to discrepancies in the traveler's name in her passport and visa application. Korean Air's branch office fully explained this to the passenger."

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