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Passport and Airline Ticket Last Name Space Issue

Is it going to be a problem if my passport has a space in our last name (it legally does its Van W-----) but my airline tickets don't? I am using points to buy my tickets and the booking site won't let me put a space in the last name and it lumps it all together. I am flying from Chicago to Germany and back and using Lufthansa and United Airlines. Thanks for any help with this issue.

Posted by
5835 posts

I've been making sure that our full names are entered into the airline passenger lists. It seems that the printed first and last names matching your passport is all that is needed to get through the TSA lines.

Posted by
23178 posts

Forget it. You have no problems. Computers don't like spaces. Whether it is VanWinkle or Van Winkle. It makes absolutely no difference. In fact I have had a couple tickets where my first name is Fran because they ran out of space with a longer last name. Nobody said "boo."

Posted by
295 posts

You should be fine since the spelling is the same. That's what really matters. All the letters match so you should be good to go. You have problems when its a different spelling, name or nickname.

Posted by
7010 posts

I agree with the last two posters, it's not an issue. I've had airline tickets with my middle initial as part of my last name, no problem. I've even had a ticket with the last letter of my last name left off, still not a problem.

Posted by
5835 posts

Here's the government's word:
http://www.tsa.gov/content/frequently-asked-questions-secure-flight

Why am I required to provide my full name, date of birth, and gender under Secure Flight?
TSA collects this information to significantly decrease the likelihood of a passenger being misidentified as a match to the watch lists. TSA carefully considered the costs and benefits of the Secure Flight program, and is requiring the collection of the minimum amount of personal information necessary to conduct effective watch list matching. More than 99 percent of passengers who provide Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD) are cleared by Secure Flight in advance of airport arrival and do not experience delays in obtaining boarding passes.

If the name printed on my boarding pass is different than what appears on my government ID, will I be turned away at security and unable to fly?
Boarding passes may not always display the exact name you provided when booking your travel. The name you provide is used to perform watch list matching before a boarding pass is issued, so small differences should not impact your travel.*

Posted by
11613 posts

The airline routinely combines my first and middle name into one, and doesn't correctly capitalize my last name. I have never had a problem. It seems that as long as the letters are all there in the proper sequence, it's okay.