Newlywed issues warning after showing up at airport for honeymoon. Don’t make this mistake: ‘They might not let you on the plane’

‘You’re gonna need to bring an entire bag of your documents.’

A newlywed woman almost didn’t have a chance to fly due to a security issue. The reason why? She hadn’t received her new ID after her name change, which meant her boarding documents didn’t match her ID.

Emma Joy (@emmajoytrca), a newly married TikTok content creator, warned married couples against an issue that could stop a honeymoon plan. Five months after her wedding, she still had legal documents that carried her maiden name. But according to the content creator, airlines want newly married individuals’ valid ID to match their travel documents and boarding passes.

As of this writing, Emma Joy’s video has more than 181,000 views. But is she correct? Will airlines really not take an ID that features a person’s pre-married name if they booked a ticket under their married one?

Newlywed Flying: What’s the Predicament?

Emma Joy says she took a trip with her husband five months after getting married. But she didn’t realize that her documents—from her Social Security card to her passport—should reflect her name change prior to boarding.

“Just know that when you get married, and you go to the airport, you’re gonna need to bring an entire bag of your documents known to your name,” Emma Joy claimed. “Marriage license, passport, Social Security, new ID, old ID, etc., because they might not let you on the plane just because you got married and you have a new last name.”

She panned her camera toward her brand new husband. Then she asked, “What are your thoughts?”

He simply said, “Stupid.” She agreed.

In the comments section, she explained what happened. “I didn’t think it would be an issue bc LEGALLY through all platforms my last name is changed I just don’t have my new id yet.”

‘Why Would You Change Your Name Before the Honeymoon?’

A few married viewers who traveled for their honeymoon said they didn’t have the same issue—they simply booked their flights under their pre-married name when bringing an old ID.

“You should book the ticket under whatever name will be on your documents at the time of travel,” one viewer said.

Another viewer said, “I just didn’t make my airline reservation with my new last name. I put my maiden name since it matched my ID and I was fine.”

A few viewers recommended not changing their name legally until after the honeymoon to avoid additional complications.

“If you’re taking a honeymoon do not change anything till you get back,” one viewer said. “It’s that simple.”

“Or don’t change your name until after the honeymoon legally. This definitely saved me,” an additional viewer added.

A third added, “We booked our flights in my maiden name and we aren’t changing our names until after we get back for this reason.”

Traveling Post-Marriage

Brides discussed the issue with Laura Freeman, a New York City-based travel advisor. Freeman’s advice? “It actually doesn’t matter what your legal name is on the ticket. It only matters that your (valid) passport and all the tickets match,” she said.

So it’s best practice to simply make sure travel documents match up to whatever ID a person plans to bring to the airport. Freeman advises her clients to change their legal documents after a trip instead of before.

In addition, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) doesn’t require a “bag full of documents” for newly married travelers. The TSA accepts passports, driver’s licenses, and other forms of identification. Most travelers only need to provide one form of identification that matches their travel documents. If they can provide documents that match their new last name, they can technically travel without using their pre-married name.

AllHipHop reached out to Emma Joy via email for comment. This story will be updated if she responds.

@emmajoytrca But we’re off 🛫🛫 #newlymarried #tsa #newlastname ♬ original sound – emmajoytrca

Related