• pmk@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    54
    ·
    1 month ago

    I had to convince people to let me on board a plane because my name contain a swedish letter (å). Their computer system translated it into “aa”, which then didn’t match my passport.

    • someguy3@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      1 month ago

      That one I can actually see, having an extra letter that doesn’t match. Dropped punctuation or symbols (whatever the flair is called) though personally I wouldn’t care.

      • wieson@feddit.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        20
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 month ago

        That’s the wrong way of looking at an å.

        It’s not just an a with decoration. It actually has different pronunciation and is typically replaced with aa if no å is available. (I’m neither Swedish nor Norwegian, so not 100% sure, but it’s what happened to Erling Haaland).

        Similarly, you would replace a German ä with ae. So if my name was Bäcker, it would be wrong to spell it Backer on a ticket. Baecker would be the way.

        • someguy3@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          1 month ago

          Yes I’m aware it’s not an a with decoration jfc. I’m saying for computer entries that garble things, I wouldn’t care about matching it up so perfectly (with dropped whatever those things are called) as to not allow someone to board a plane.

          • Hawke@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 month ago

            “Diacritics” is the word you are looking for.

            And unfortunately the kind of people who decide whether people get to board a plane do care about that stuff.

    • ryedaft@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 month ago

      Your name is transliterated in your passport? That’s on the Swedish authorities then.

      • pmk@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        1 month ago

        No, my passport has my real name of course, with “å”. In the airport system and on the boarding pass my name was spelled with “aa”.

        • ryedaft@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 month ago

          I’m amazed that none of your family members have run into the same problem. If I were you I would compare passports with my family.