I Trusted AI for Visa Advice and Was Denied Boarding, Humans Saved the Day

A sign of entering an older generation is becoming skeptical of new technology.

It was the explosion of AI that made me realize I had entered that category. I’m so skeptical that I simply refuse to use it, and despite what people say about AI being the future, I’m still happy figuring things out myself.

However, I had a moment of misplaced, last-minute trust in AI recently that left me somewhat stranded at an airport after being denied a boarding pass to Honduras in Central America. Before this, I’d heard countless tales of people trusting AI for travel and being let down in all sorts of ways. I couldn’t believe that the one time I let my guard down, I became one of those people.

AI Told Me I Didn’t Need a Visa

I’ll add a caveat by being honest about my tendency to get into sticky visa situations. Twice, I’ve arrived at a U.K. airport only to be told that my Electronic System for Travel Authorization acceptance for the U.S. had expired. I wish they would send a reminder email when it’s about to expire.

In this episode of visa misfortunes, I was starting a journey through Central America on a review trip, ticking off new countries such as Panama, Nicaragua, and El Salvador along the way. After spending a few days in Medellín, Colombia, the next country was Honduras.

The morning of my departure, I spent a couple of hours by the pool at the Click Clack hotel, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t yet checked whether I needed a visa. Having not needed a visa for any other Central American country, I assumed the same would be true for Honduras.

I remember smirking to myself, thinking, “How annoying would it be if I needed to get a visa now?” before opening Google Chrome on my phone and typing, “Do I need a visa to travel to Honduras?”

The message displayed by Google’s Gemini AI read: “U.S., Canadian, U.K., and EU citizens do not need a visa for tourism in Honduras for stays up to 90 days.” This was excellent news.

Normally, I only rely on the U.K. government’s website to check visa requirements. But this time, I took AI’s word for it and went back to learning Japanese on Duolingo and soaking up the last few rays of Medellín’s rare sunshine.

When it was time to leave, I ordered an Uber. I had a profound and interesting chat with my driver en route to the José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) about how El Poblado, Medellín’s tourist area, is attracting the wrong kind of tourists — a story for another day.

I walked up to the Copa Airlines desk with about 2 hours to go before my flight was due to depart at 6:20 p.m. I handed the friendly agent my passport and was asked the usual questions, like “Where is your final destination?” and “Do you have an onward ticket?”, but I was caught off guard when asked to show my visa.

My immediate thought was that there must have been a system error, so I showed the agent the screenshot I had taken a few hours earlier. In that moment, it occurred to me that I hadn’t cross-checked it against the gov.uk website. Maybe I’d just made a huge, and potentially costly, mistake.

Thankfully, I speak Spanish, which made this situation a lot simpler. We went back and forth for a few minutes about whether I needed a visa before the agent called over a senior colleague to help. In the hope of finding some proof that I was right, I opened the U.K. government’s travel page for Honduras. My heart sank — a visa is required for U.K. citizens. To make matters worse, Honduran visas for U.K. citizens can only be obtained by visiting a Honduran embassy.

The next hour or so was chaotic, but thanks to the patience and understanding of real human beings, I was able to board my original flight, albeit without a second boarding pass to Honduras.

How Humans Solved What AI Couldn’t

The first thing I asked was if I could get a boarding pass for the first flight to Panamá. As per the ticketing rules, I expected it to mean a whole new ticket, which they issued. That was out of the question.

I stepped away from the desk for a minute to gather my thoughts and came to the conclusion that I probably had 3 options:

1. I could change my ticket to San Salvador (SAL), El Salvador, my next planned destination after Honduras.
2. Or I could change my ticket to Panamá City (PTY), spend a couple of days there, then continue my planned journey in El Salvador.
3. Finally, I could go back to Medellín, feel sorry for myself, and figure it out in the morning.

I quickly vetoed the third option and went back to the check-in desk to ask about changing my ticket. This is where things got complicated. They said they couldn’t authorize ticket changes at check-in and that I’d have to call Copa Airlines’ helpline. I went to the information desk, where another Copa representative connected me by phone with someone who could help.

I explained the situation and was told there was no availability to change my ticket to El Salvador that day, so I would have had to spend a night in Medellín anyway. I wanted to keep moving, so I tried the second option: changing my ticket to end in Panamá rather than connecting onward to Palmerola International Airport (XPL) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Thankfully, it was possible, and it would cost me just $100 to make the change.

The helpful lady on the phone explained that she couldn’t accept the payment and that she’d authorize the change in the system, but I’d have to go back to the check-in desk to pay. Such is the weird and wonderful bureaucracy in Latin America at times. Feeling relieved, I headed back to the check-in desk with a smile and made the payment.

Convincing My Hotel To Refund Me

I also had a nonrefundable reservation at the brand-new Tru by Hilton near Tegucigalpa’s Palmerola International Airport. Given the circumstances, I thought I’d reach out to the hotel and try my luck. As it happened, I’d been speaking with the hotel on Instagram the night before about the airport shuttle.

The team was friendly and responsive, so I felt I had a chance. I explained the situation, and, to my delight, they agreed to cancel and refund the $326 for my 2-night stay.

What I Learned From My Costly Mistake

My first tip would be: Don’t trust AI!

I’m kind of joking, but not really. If it hadn’t been for the generous refund from Tru by Hilton, I’d have been a few hundred dollars more out of pocket. It was enough to almost cover the flight change fee and the last-minute flight with Copa Airlines for $237 from Panamá to San Salvador (SAL). Then I used 17,000 World of Hyatt points for one of the 2 nights I stayed at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Panama City. The second night cost $247.

Considering I had to change a flight, book a new last-minute flight, had a nonrefundable hotel, and had booked last-minute accommodation for 2 nights in Panama, I count myself lucky that I was only out of pocket by $257. Actually, my flight from Tegucigalpa to San Salvador was $200 and also nonrefundable, so $457 is starting to sound like more of an expensive mistake.

Costs from visa issues are not covered by credit card travel insurance, as the responsibility lies with the traveler. I cannot blame Google Gemini for that.

However, had my expenses been caused by other circumstances, such as lost baggage or medical fees while traveling, I would have been able to apply for reimbursement thanks to my U.K. version of the Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes even pro travelers make mistakes. I’d been living on the road for almost a year and a half at that point, and I’d started to get lazy with the constant planning and research. However, it wasn’t all my fault. I read in black and white that I did not need a visa for Honduras and trusted Google’s word.

I’ll be taking this $457 as a hard lesson learned about blindly trusting AI — something I’d originally avoided previously for this exact reason. I understand it has its uses, but I’ll be sticking to official sources for my travel visa information from now on.