A post about a plane passenger who was baffled by an airline worker’s issue with their passport at the check-in counter has gone viral on Threads.
The post was shared by @pkennygulmatico and has amassed 1.1 million views since it was posted on November 3.
A caption shared with the post says: “Almost got denied check in by an airline. The crew kept on insisting my passport should not be expiring within 6 month, and that’s the requirement. The problem with her argument is my passport will be expiring on 2029. She’s confused and so is her supervisor whom she asked three times. She moved me to the window seat though, so that’s a win I guess.”
The post features a close-up view of what appears to be a passport page. The image shows that the passport was issued as July 9, 2019, and that it is valid until July 8, 2029.
The viral post comes as the total demand for air travel rose by 3.6 percent in September, compared to September 2024, according to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
North American carriers saw a 2.5 percent year-on-year increase in demand, while the capacity increased 4.3 percent year-on-year, according to the IATA.
“Solid international demand drove 90 percent of September’s 3.6 percent overall growth. Importantly, the capacity expansion slightly nudged ahead of demand growth at 3.7 percent,” Willie Walsh, the IATA’s director general, said in a statement.
He added: “With November flight schedules indicating a 3 percent expansion on the previous year, airlines are gearing up for continued growth into the year-end holiday season. This is despite the severe constraints of unresolved supply chain issues.”
‘I’m Confused’
The bizarre airline blunder in the viral post left Threads users also scratching their heads.
User @chrisjunleee said: “I don’t understand how she can get confused? Someone explain pls.”
User @mymatchalattegarden was also perplexed, saying: “I’m confused. Are you from the future? Cos here I am in November 2025.”
User @farahinsalimiazman reasoned: “Regardless, Jul 2026 (if that’s what they mistaken with) is 9 months away. Not even less than 6 months. What kind of nonsense they’re talking about?”
User @sayslatvic asked: “Might be a crazy question but would your birthday happen to be within 6 months? Them mistakenly looking at your DOB [date of birth] on your passport is the only logical reason I can think of why this would happen. Even then, the year should’ve been a dead giveaway but maybe in a rush, they simply read the day and month and ran with it.” The original poster replied: “OMG yes! Hahahahaha! That might be what they’re looking at!”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via Threads.
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