A U.S. citizen was recently denied entry into Poland due to her passport being defaced with handwritten notes, as reported by border officials in Warsaw. The incident occurred at Krakow's Balice airport, where the passenger arrived on a flight from London in the early hours of the morning.
The woman was halted at passport control after officials noticed handwritten notes of locations and airport names scribbled under visa stamps from her previous travels. Upon questioning, the passenger claimed she was unaware of the prohibition against writing on passports or ID documents.
According to Justyna Drozdz, a spokesperson for local border security, the woman will be returning to London on a flight scheduled for Thursday. It is a standard practice that passport holders should refrain from writing in their passports except for providing a signature and emergency contact information.
Instances of passport damage or defacement can lead to denial of boarding or entry by airlines and immigration authorities. The reasons why the woman's passport had not raised concerns at other border checkpoints remain unclear.
