This reflex to have can save you some trouble…
Airports see hundreds of thousands of travelers pass through every day, with their suitcases and also their little habits. There are those who arrive several hours in advance to be sure not to miss their flight, those who run up and down the aisles before their boarding gate closes, those who reorganize their suitcase for fear of paying a baggage surcharge, and then there are people who check twice to make sure they haven’t forgotten their papers. In general, this type of traveler always has their printed plane ticket and boarding pass within reach, in a bag, a jeans pocket or a wallet. And this throughout their journey, whether at the airport, on the plane or even upon arriving at their destination.
A habit that at first glance seems innocent, but it can be very costly for the person traveling. In fact, it is strongly recommended to destroy your plane ticket and boarding pass (which is given if you have checked in luggage) once you have arrived at your destination. It is not a matter of simply throwing them in the trash, but of tearing them into several small pieces or even wetting them before getting rid of them.
This way, you prevent prying eyes from reading and retaining some of your personal information. As you probably know, your plane ticket contains your first name, last name and flight number. But what few people know is that the boarding pass also contains sensitive data. On it, there is usually a 2D barcode or a QR code. A detail in appearance, but not for hackers…
These malicious people can crack the code in minutes and gain access to your booking number, flight number, email address, and even some payment details. These are things that can be stolen from you through identity theft or fraud, according to Flightright, a legal services website for travelers. That’s why it’s important to properly destroy these documents after a flight.