ANA flies out of Tokyo Haneda and Narita to dozens of cities across Asia, North America and Europe, and as a Star Alliance member it runs the same document checks as other full-service carriers. A dummy ticket, also called an onward ticket, is a real PNR booked for visa or border-check purposes without paying for the flight. Here's how to be ready if an ANA agent asks for one.

1. Understand who is really asking

The agent at the ANA desk isn't setting policy for fun. Airlines can be fined or made to carry a refused passenger home, so they check that your documents match the entry rules of the country you're landing in. That's why the question usually comes up on a one-way fare, where nothing shows you plan to leave.

ANA doesn't publish a blanket "everyone needs an onward ticket" rule that we can point to. The check follows the destination, not the airline. Two passengers on the same flight can be treated differently because their passports differ.

It also helps to know what the agent sees. The screen shows your route, your fare type and the entry rules for your passport on that route. A return fare to Tokyo rarely raises anything. A one-way fare from Tokyo to, say, a Southeast Asian city can raise a flag if that country expects proof of exit, and the agent has to resolve the flag before issuing a boarding pass. That's routine, not an accusation.

2. Look up the rules for your arrival country

Before you worry about ANA, read what the destination says. Government travel advice pages are the right starting point, and the UK government's foreign travel advice lists an entry requirements section for each country. The US State Department's international travel pages do something similar for travellers from the United States.

Airlines typically cross-check those rules using IATA's Timatic database, which is why a counter agent can tell you what your passport needs without leaving their screen. We won't quote specific day counts here, because they change and depend on nationality. Treat your own passport's page as the final word.

3. Decide what proof you can show

If the destination does expect onward travel, you have a few honest options:

  • A booked flight out of the country, whether paid or a short-lived reservation
  • A ticket on to another country by sea or land, where the border allows it
  • A return fare you've already bought

A dummy ticket works here because it's a real reservation that an agent can pull up by name. A screenshot of a made-up PDF isn't the same thing. Think about what the agent is really trying to confirm. They want to see that a person with your passport will be able to leave the country within the time they're allowed to stay. Anything that shows a real, retrievable departure answers that, and anything vague doesn't. That's also why a verbal explanation, however sincere, rarely settles it on its own.

If you're unsure which suits your trip, the guide to dummy tickets and onward tickets walks through the differences.

4. Time the booking sensibly

Reservations that are held rather than ticketed can lapse. Airlines release unticketed seats on their own schedule, so a booking made weeks before departure may have vanished by the time you reach the counter. Make yours close enough to travel that it's still live at check-in.

Print or save the booking reference and the passenger name exactly as it appears on your passport. A mismatch of one letter is enough to make the lookup fail. Short version: check the spelling twice.

Be realistic about connections, too. If you're flying ANA through Tokyo to somewhere else, the check that matters is the one for your final country, and it can happen at your first departure airport rather than in Japan. Ask yourself at each leg what the next border expects, and carry the same reservation for all of them. If your itinerary has two separate tickets, say so at the desk, since agents handle separately ticketed journeys with extra care.

5. At the ANA desk, keep it plain

When the agent asks, hand over the confirmation and your passport together. Answer the actual question: where are you going next, and when? There's no need to over-explain. Agents see these requests all day.

If they ask for something you can't supply, ask calmly what they need to see. Staff usually have a short list. The airline's own ANA website is the place to confirm check-in cut-off times and baggage rules before you leave for the airport.

A tidy checklist before you leave home

Run through this the night before, not at the airport.

  • Your passport's entry rules read, and the page saved offline
  • Your reservation open and the name matching your passport
  • A second way to show it, such as a printed copy or email
  • Enough time at the desk that a question isn't a crisis

When you're ready to sort the paperwork, you can book a dummy ticket for your ANA route in a few minutes.