Just the other day, we had a customer in Uganda who called us because on their way to the airport, their passport and immunization card were stolen right from their car!! On their way to the airport, they stopped for coffee with their driver, and when getting back into their car, they realized that while they were inside, their bags in the car were stolen, leaving them without the necessary documents needed to travel back home!! YIKES!! Talk about anyone's worst travel nightmare!! SO, they called me to help them cancel flights and direct them on what to do. SO, if you ever are in this predicament, here is what you do.
1. Do not panic. If you "lose it," you can easily become a vulnerable target, especially in a 3rd world country. Remain calm and make your way to a police station to make a police report. You will need a police report to show the airlines the reason you are not flying and also to show the embassy to get a new passport.
2. Make sure you contact your travel agent to arrange the cancellation of your flights so that you don't lose all value of your tickets by being a "NO-SHOW" for your flights. This is another nightmare you don't want.
3. You will need a copy of your passport printed out to take with you to the Embassy in the country you are in. So, if you are a US citizen, you will need to locate the US Embassy in the country you are in to make sure you report your stolen passport there. The Embassy can usually get you a new passport within a day or two if you have the proper paperwork to give them.
4. Make sure you explain to the airlines that you have lost your passport. Often times, this will help you to be able to get a break on some of the re-booking fees if you need to cancel a flight.
5. If you are reading this beforehand, make sure when preparing for your trip that you remember to keep a copy of your passport in your checked baggage. This will help you in the event that you would ever lose a passport.
6. There are some handy passport pouches that you can wear on your person. Wearing your passport in a pouch close to your body under your clothes when traveling, is the best way to keep it with you and not in another area where it could be stolen or misplaced.
Keep in mind that passports are sold on the black market for 10,000's of dollars. This is motivation for a thief to be stealing these things and even more motivation for you to be protecting your passport as if it were worth that much money to you, because in the event you would lose it, you would wish that you could pay as much money as you had in order to alleviate such hassles as there can be with the loss of a passport.
My customers actually were very glad that they filed the police report because the police told them that their passport had been returned!! Truly this is a miracle of God and many of us were praying for them. I am so glad they were able to travel home the very next day with minimal cost to change their flights. They were very thankful to be home after such an ordeal!!
I hope this information is helpful and pray that this never happens to you!!!
Thanks so much!
Safe travels,
Tabitha :)
www.CheapMissionsTrips.com
www.AdoptionAirfare.com
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