My Dummy Ticket
Plain-English answers from people who've worked both sides of the border counter. Written daily by four travel-industry insiders.
Cathay Pacific check-in agents can ask for proof of onward travel before you even reach the border, and a dummy ticket is the easiest fix.
Free dummy ticket generator sites hand you a PDF, not a real airline reservation, and that gap is exactly what verification checks catch.
Does Qatar Airways check for a dummy ticket at check-in? Here is how the airline handles onward-ticket proof for one-way flights through its Doha hub.
Vietnam's e-visa system doesn't erase the onward-ticket question. Here's when it actually comes up, and what to book if you're traveling loose.
Uganda checks onward travel differently at Entebbe Airport than at its land borders with Kenya and Rwanda, and the East African Tourist Visa changes the picture too.
A return ticket brings you home; an onward ticket just proves you are leaving the country you entered. Here is when each one actually matters.
Proof of onward travel is a requirement, not a product, and a dummy or onward ticket is just one way to satisfy it. Here's what airlines, border officers, and consulates actually check.
Tanzania expects proof you will leave, but the check usually happens at airline check-in, not at immigration on arrival.
Singapore Airlines relies on IATA's Timatic system to decide whether your dummy ticket or onward ticket clears check-in before you fly.
Turkish Airlines check-in staff use IATA's Timatic system to verify onward travel proof before boarding, and a valid dummy or onward ticket needs to hold up to that check.
Uzbekistan has relaxed its visa rules for many nationalities, but that does not remove the onward-ticket question at airline check-in. Here is where it actually comes up, and what counts as valid proof.
A dummy ticket can be genuinely safe, but only if it is a real, verifiable reservation. Here is what actually separates a safe booking from a risky one, and where travellers usually go wrong.