A British traveller was turned away at check-in for his flight to the US after discovering his ESTA was tied to an old passport that no longer matched the one he was travelling with.
What happened
Oliver Henry documented the ordeal on TikTok, explaining he'd been denied check-in despite technically having a valid ESTA that hadn't expired. The issue was that his ESTA remained linked to his previous passport, which he'd since renewed, meaning the authorisation no longer matched his current travel document.
Henry submitted a new ESTA application from the airport itself, hoping approval would come through within a two-hour window before his flight. Unfortunately, it didn't arrive in time, and he missed his original flight. He was later rebooked onto a different flight and successfully made it to the US, going on to share several videos from his trip afterwards.
Why a new passport invalidates an existing ESTA
An ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) allows UK travellers to visit the US for stays of up to 90 days for tourism or business, and is also required for flights that simply stop over in the US. Applications can be submitted online, typically recommended at least 72 hours before travel, though approval can sometimes come through almost instantly. Once granted, an ESTA remains valid for up to two years.
Crucially, an ESTA is linked specifically to a passport number rather than to the traveller personally. This means that if you renew your passport at any point while your ESTA is still technically valid, the ESTA becomes void the moment the new passport is issued, since it's tied to a document that no longer exists in active use. Travellers in this situation need to submit a completely new ESTA application matching their current passport details, rather than assuming the original approval carries over.
