Consider a hypothetical traveller, Ms. D, who plans a trip to Dakar's Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS) and has no flight out booked. A dummy ticket, also called an onward ticket, is a real PNR booked for visa or border-check purposes without paying for the flight. This case study sets out which documents Ms. D should assemble for Senegal, and why each one matters at check-in.

The scenario: Ms. D and an open-ended itinerary

Ms. D is a composite used for illustration, not a real person. She intends to spend a few weeks in Senegal and then continue overland to a neighbouring country, though she hasn't decided which. Her passport is valid, and she has a first-night hotel reservation.

What she lacks is evidence of departure. Her airline's check-in agent cannot see her overland intentions. The agent sees only a one-way journey into Senegal. From a compliance perspective, that gap is the whole problem.

The documents Ms. D should assemble

The requirement is not identical for every passport. Official sources state what applies to a given nationality, and Ms. D should consult them before anything else. The UK government's Senegal entry requirements page is one example of a current, citable source. Her own government will publish its equivalent.

Airlines apply those rules through the IATA Timatic database, described on the IATA Timatic page. It's the reference an agent consults, and its output may differ from what a traveller expects.

With the rules identified, the file should contain the following.

Document What it evidences Common defect
Passport Identity and validity Name differs from the booking
Onward booking with PNR Intent and ability to depart Hold expires before arrival
Accommodation record Where she'll stay first Dates inconsistent with departure
Any visa or entry authorisation required Permission to enter Not checked against nationality

None of these is exotic. The failure mode is inconsistency, not absence.

Why the booking must be verifiable

A verifiable booking is one an agent can retrieve in the carrier's reservation system, using the passenger's name and a record locator. A screenshot of a fare quote does not meet that standard. Neither does a document the traveller has edited.

Ms. D should therefore confirm three attributes: the surname matches her passport, the locator returns a live booking, and the departure date lies within her intended stay. Our companion analysis on how long an onward ticket PNR remains valid addresses the third in detail.

Overland departure as a stated plan

Senegal borders several countries, and an overland exit is a legitimate plan. It is, however, a difficult one to evidence at an airport thousands of kilometres away. An agent can verify a flight reservation in seconds. A bus timetable takes longer and carries less weight. Ms. D therefore keeps the overland intention as her actual plan while carrying a flight booking as the document the desk can check.

Two ways to hold the booking

The file can carry either of two instruments, and the distinction matters for the record.

The first is a short-term reservation: a PNR held without full payment for a limited window. It evidences intent and appears in the carrier's system, but it lapses. Ms. D would need to time it so that it remains live through check-in.

The second is a refundable or flexible fare: a paid ticket cancelled or changed later under the carrier's published conditions. It stays live for longer and costs more at the outset. Refund terms vary by airline and fare class, and Ms. D should read them on the carrier's own site before relying on them.

Neither instrument is inherently superior. The choice follows from the length of the trip, the budget, and how certain the departure date is. What matters for compliance is that the choice is deliberate and documented.

Common compliance failures

Three defects recur in cases of this kind.

First, timing. A reservation held for a short window may lapse before the traveller reaches the desk. Ms. D should record the expiry and look at the status the day before departure.

Second, names. Middle names and hyphenated surnames create mismatches. These are corrected before ticketing, because afterwards correction may not be possible.

Third, narrative. If the booking shows a departure on one date and the hotel record ends on another, the agent may ask questions. Consistency across documents is the standard.

The sequence of checks, in order

Ms. D's file is reviewed at more than one point, and it helps to anticipate each.

At home, the check-in agent consults the carrier's system and the traveller's documents. At a connecting airport, a second agent may repeat the exercise. On arrival, an officer may ask about her plans, and her answers should match the paper.

A prudent practice is to keep one consolidated copy, printed and digital, with the booking reference at the top. That avoids searching through a phone while a queue forms behind her.

What not to do

Ms. D must not alter documents, fabricate bookings, or misstate her intentions to an officer. A genuine reservation made through an airline or agent is a different matter from a forged one. If she can't evidence something, she should say so plainly and ask what the carrier will accept.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Requirements change, so verify them with the carrier and the official sources above before travel.

Once the file is complete, reserve a verifiable booking that matches the dates in it.