A Kenyan woman, Zola Madaga, has shared how a last-minute airport intervention helped her travel to Ghana after an airline official questioned the validity of her old navy blue Kenyan passport.
Zola recounted the experience in a Facebook video titled “Testimony Number Four,” explaining how what began as an ordinary work trip nearly ended before she could board her flight.
She had travelled to the airport with her colleagues, expecting to proceed with the journey as planned. However, trouble began at the check-in counter when an airline official informed her that her passport could not be used for international travel.
Zola said she had already applied for a replacement passport, but the new document had not been processed before her departure date.
Believing her old passport would still allow her to travel, she was caught off guard when the airline official stopped her from checking in.
According to her account, she was informed that special authorisation would be needed before she could proceed with the journey using the document.
The situation became more stressful because time was running out, leaving her uncertain about whether she would make the flight.
Her brother, who had just dropped her off at the airport, had barely left the premises when she called him in a panic and asked him to return.
“Come back, come back, we might be going back home because these people are saying I can’t travel with this passport,” she recalled telling him.
As the family waited anxiously, one of Zola’s colleagues stepped in to explore a possible solution. The colleague contacted someone he knew at the airport’s immigration offices to seek clarification and assistance.
The contact asked them to wait as they awaited further communication. However, the minutes continued to pass, and Zola became increasingly concerned that she would miss her flight.
With the departure time approaching, she called her mother and explained the difficult situation.
Rather than panic, her mother responded with words of encouragement and prayer, assuring her that she would travel.
“You will travel,” her mother told her.
Zola said she joined her mother in prayer, asking God to intervene before it was too late.
“God, you of the 11th hour, you of that last-minute miracle, today I need to see you immediately,” she recalled praying.
The breakthrough eventually came when the immigration contact responded and directed her to a specific counter at the airport.
Zola said an immigration official stamped her passport and cleared her to proceed with the journey. She was then able to board her flight to Ghana, bringing an end to the uncertainty that had surrounded her departure.
She eventually landed at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, where she completed her work assignment.
According to her account, the return journey also went smoothly, and she arrived back home without further complications.
Reflecting on the experience, Zola described the intervention as a last-minute answer to prayer. She also displayed the navy blue passport she had used during the trip, explaining that she had since retired the document.
Her experience highlights the importance of confirming passport validity and travel requirements before heading to the airport, particularly when travelling internationally.
Travellers should check with the relevant immigration authorities and their airline to establish whether their passports are acceptable for their intended journey. They should also confirm whether a replacement document has been issued and whether any transitional arrangements apply to older passports.
Although Zola said she was eventually allowed to travel following intervention at the airport, her experience should not be taken as a guarantee that other travellers carrying similar documents will receive the same clearance.
Passengers who discover problems with their travel documents at check-in risk missing their flights, especially when there is insufficient time to obtain the necessary authorisation.
For Zola, however, the tense airport encounter ended with her reaching Ghana, completing her assignment and returning home safely.