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We are flying with Monarch, but I booked the ticket through a package holiday company and forgot to give my husband's middle name at the time of the booking (they did not ask for it). We will travel to Tunisia and will have to provide API (Advance Passanger Information) at the check-in desk and as the API requires the full name (first, middle and last name) I am worried that they will notice that my husband's middle name is missing from the flight reservation.

Is there a rule that flight tickets have to contain middle names as well? I checked Monarch's website and although the middle name is emphasised for the API, it is not specified for ticket bookings; moreover, if you book your ticket online, they only ask for first name and surname.

Do you think this could create a problem? Can he be denied from boarding? (I don't want to call the airline, as I've heard airlines love charging for extras such as a name change so I am not sure if I would be provided with accurate information.)

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  • Does your husband's middle name show in his passport? if it does then it is better to update it. APIS matches against passports. Anyway this will be considered name correction, not a name change (as in moving the ticket to another person).
    – Nean Der Thal
    Commented Sep 15, 2014 at 21:58
  • Thank you for your answer. Yes his middle name is in the passport. Is name correction cheaper as name change?
    – Shirley
    Commented Sep 15, 2014 at 22:02
  • I can't answer this, but AFAIK correcting the name should be free, changing the name to another person is chargeable. Just call and ask, or wait until someone knows a better answer here :)
    – Nean Der Thal
    Commented Sep 15, 2014 at 22:04
  • Unfortunately there is no info about name correction at Monarch. Btw we haven't provided the API yet, we have to do it at check-in, so we will make sure that will match his passport, but the ticket is missing his middle name, so I wonder if this would interfere. He travelled numerous times without his middle name on the ticket, but this is our first time with Monarch and they want the API at the check-in desk, not just filling in a form on the plane, so this kind of procedure worries me.
    – Shirley
    Commented Sep 15, 2014 at 22:23

1 Answer 1

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In short, don't worry about it. As long as the first name and last name in the passport match, you should be good to go.

Middle names are generally ignored in flight reservations: many legacy systems can't even handle them, so they get shoehorned into the first name and often truncated in the process. You're not going to find an 'official' source for this, but here's one largish travel agent on the topic:

My ticket does not show my middle name – does it matter?

The majority of airlines simply require that the first name and surname shown on your ticket match the first name and surname shown on your passport. Middle names are not normally required.

Even the US, which is generally very picky, doesn't care about middle names on tickets, only in SFPD (their version of API). American Airlines:

Q: Is the middle name or initial required for Secure Flight documentation?

A: For SFPD data the passenger’s full name as it appears on a person's valid government-issued photo identification that will use when traveling. ...

NOTE: The middle name or middle initial is not required in the name field of the reservation for ticketing or upgrading purposes. GDS functionalities differ and may not support the middle name or middle initial.

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