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A friend of mine booked a ticket a month or so ago which is a connected flight from Tehran to Istanbul and Istanbul to Belgrade (includes return ticket). Then we discussed his choice of traveling to Belgrade and the reason behind this decision (I believe Belgrade has not so many things to offer as "tourist attractions", so I blamed my friend and tried to convince him to skip the second leg and visit another city in Turkey instead). He has no problem visiting Istanbul anytime since it doesn't require a visa. It was the same for Serbia until last night that Serbia abolished visa free travel with Iran. My friend has also booked a flight from Istanbul to Kayseri and return ticket. My questions are:

  • Is my friend still able to use the ticket to fly to Istanbul considering the fact that he needs a visa to travel to Serbia and has none?
  • If he buys a separate ticket for his flight from Tehran to Istanbul, is he able to use the second leg of the return ticket to fly from Istanbul to Tehran?
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  • If its a single ticket, the airline staff may not allow your friend to board the flight if he doesn't produce a valid travel document (visa in this case) upon check in.
    – Bhushan Kale
    Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 14:02
  • @BhushanKale It's not single ticket as I stated in the question.
    – Gigili
    Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 14:05
  • You said connected ticket and never did you mention that it is on different tickets. If he holds a separate ticket for his first leg to Istanbul, he will be able to board that leg irrespective of all other tickets.
    – Bhushan Kale
    Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 14:09
  • @BhushanKale I did mention that in the second line (includes return ticket) meaning it's a round trip.
    – Gigili
    Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 14:16
  • No I mean a separate ticket only for the first leg. Its all of the legs are in one single ticket (one single PNR/Confirmation code) then the airline staff will not allow boarding. If only the first leg from Tehran to Istanbul has it own ticket (meaning its own PNR) then your fiend will have no problem.
    – Bhushan Kale
    Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 14:17

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Presuming that the flight from Istanbul to Belgrade is within 24 hours of his arrival into Istanbul, then he will almost certainly be denied boarding in Tehran if he does not meet the requirements to enter Serbia.

The airline will attempt to check him in for both flights, will detect his lack of a visa for Serbia, and will refuse to check him in for either flight.

If it is somehow able to check in for his first flight to Istanbul (eg, if it's a >24 hour connection, or if he obtains a visa for Serbia) but then fails to take the connecting flight to Belgrade, then the remainder of his ticket - including the return flights back to Tehran - will be cancelled by the airline.

The only options are to either obtain a visa for Serbia and continue on to Belgrade, or contact the airline to change the ticket - which will most likely have a fee associated with it.

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