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Say a dual New Zealand and Mali citizen is flying from NZ to Mali via Australia (pure hypothetical).

The passports are in different names. Mali passport alone needs transit visa for Australia. NZ passport alone needs a visa for Mali. Both passports together, in theory, do not need any visas.

In which passport should the flights be booked?

The crux of this question is the humble allegation that not only do airlines need to be sure that travelers are allowed to both the destination and stopover countries (requiring transit visas), but they also may need to have the details entered into ATIS or similar system. This can be a problem given that flights can be booked in one name/passport only.

This is not a duplicate of that question because that one does not deal with stopovers needing visa for one of the two passports.

Greendrake
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  • Possible duplicate of I have two passports/nationalities. How do I use them when I travel? – Mikael Dúi Bolinder Sep 07 '19 at 18:34
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    There was a similar question recently about someone who was denied boarding in a similar scenario because the airline would only accept one passport. Too lazy to look for it right now though. – jcaron Sep 07 '19 at 21:14
  • I can’t find that question... IIRC or was about someone leaving from the US, with a passport from the Philippines and some other passport, and I believe it involved Japan. Airline wouldn’t let them board because neither passport would have allowed both the transit and entry at the destination, even though one passport would have been OK for the transit without visa and the other for entry at the destination. If someone finds it... – jcaron Sep 07 '19 at 21:41
  • @MikaelDúiBolinder I have explained why this is not a duplicate. – Greendrake Sep 07 '19 at 23:24
  • @jcaron That one? It worries about exiting the departure country (the least of my worry) and also does not involve stopovers. My concern is the risk to not be allowed to board and losing money for tickets. – Greendrake Sep 07 '19 at 23:28
  • @Greendrake, maybe you could rephrase the title of the question to make it more obvious? – Mikael Dúi Bolinder Sep 08 '19 at 00:22
  • @greendrake No, not that one. It was definitely about a transit situation and being denied boarding by the airline (as in, it had actually happened) – jcaron Sep 08 '19 at 00:29
  • @MikaelDúiBolinder do you have a suggestion how to rephrase it? – Greendrake Sep 08 '19 at 00:30
  • In the dual passport question there is a solution, one ticket to layover country and one ticket from there to destination country, works even with different names as long as both passports allow entry (without visa or with short term visa) to the layover country. – Willeke Sep 08 '19 at 08:22
  • @Willeke Booking 2 separate tickets is more expensive. I am not asking for solutions, I am asking if I can book the whole flight with one passport and just show the other at the check-in counter. – Greendrake Sep 08 '19 at 08:25
  • I am pointing out that the duplicate question has an solution in the answer, there might be more solutions. – Willeke Sep 08 '19 at 08:27

1 Answers1

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At booking, or whenever a travel document is requested, supply the passport for the destination country. At check in, or whenever else visas are checked, show both passports.

phoog
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    Needing to present two documents for an itinerary is not uncommon, and not a problem if it is legal to have both documents. – Patricia Shanahan Sep 07 '19 at 17:11
  • Well, this contradicts with the well-accepted answer (Case 2) which says that flights need to be booked in the passport of the departure country (A). Please enhance your answer explaining why satisfying visa requirements for stopover is less important (and manageable just my showing passport for stopover at check-in) than for destination country. – Greendrake Sep 07 '19 at 23:35
  • @Greendrake that answer is overly ambitious. It is trying to cover too many cases at once. It also fails to give full consideration to visa requirements. In fact it is frequently not necessary to provide a passport at booking. The reason for using the name of the departure country passport is the return journey, which this question doesn't ask about. If the names are different, there's no way to avoid having a mismatch between the passport and the ticket either on the way out or the way in. Which it is does not matter. – phoog Sep 08 '19 at 04:22
  • I'd be very keen to verify your answer in practice but if I am refused to board the flight because I have no Australian transit visa on the travel passport (despite having a New Zealand passport), the loss will be around $2000 without any confidence that it can later be recovered through the courts. – Greendrake Sep 08 '19 at 05:51
  • @Greendrake then getting an Australian transit visa on the travel passport seems a small price to pay for the increased probability of being able to complete the trip and the peace of mind that will bring. – phoog Sep 08 '19 at 10:53
  • That negates the whole purpose of the question. The idea was to take advantage of the NZ passport to avoid any visa fuss. – Greendrake Sep 08 '19 at 10:59
  • @Greendrake I understand that. But if "avoiding any visa fuss" is going to make you worry about losing the trip and the $2000 airfare, is it worthwhile? Nothing will change the fact that you will be traveling to one of your destinations by virtue of a passport that doesn't match the ticket. I reiterate that the question did not originally ask about the return journey. It really doesn't matter which name you put the ticket in. If the Australia transit is in one direction only (or even if not) and you prefer to use the NZ name for the ticket, go ahead. – phoog Sep 08 '19 at 11:09
  • I'd indeed prefer to use the NZ name/passport for the tickets, but now will I be allowed to board not having a visa for the destination country and only having that country's passport in another name? Avoiding visa fuss is indeed worthwhile if I know for sure I will be allowed (or, otherwise, that my court claim would succeed). – Greendrake Sep 08 '19 at 11:12