Flying home in tears
14 January 2007 - When one thinks of individuals being deported back home, visions of badly dressed and smelly illegal immigrants bubble up in one's mind. Less well known is the fact that there have been quite a number of tourists being sent right back home on arrival at Cape Town and O.R. Thambo (Johannesburg) International airports. South Africa's passport requirements are that there should be at least 2 blank pages in one's passport (the 'endorsement' page at the back does not count). The 2-page requirement is enforced religiously by South Africa's beaureaucrats. Anecdotal evidence has it that this requirement isn't enforced anywhere else.
Sorry Sir, your passport has too few pages
In a display of cringing embarrassment to the South African public, a London Citbank executive (Richard Hughes) and his wife Amy were sent packing back to London. ...We flew to Johannesburg and faced the devastating experience of deportation on arrival because I didn’t have an unused page. Customs staff were clinical — although, apparently because it was Christmas, they took pity and didn’t hold me in a cell while my husband and I awaited the next British Airways flight to England. Even if BA does not have a legal responsibility to inform passengers of the requirement, it surely has a moral one. At the very least, we’d like to be reimbursed for the flights. British Airways replies: “... The couple will not receive a refund. BA will also have to pay a fine of about £800 to the South African government because Mrs Hughes was declined entry.”