ChatGPT travel tip strands Spanish couple at airport, TikTok video goes viral

A Spanish influencer couple’s dream holiday to Puerto Rico turned into a viral travel nightmare after they relied on ChatGPT for visa guidance — only to be denied boarding when the AI’s advice proved incomplete.

In a TikTok video that has racked up more than 6.1 million views, influencer Mery Caldass is seen in tears at the airport while her partner, Alejandro Cid, tries to comfort her.

“I always do research, but I asked ChatGPT, and it said no,” Caldass sobbed, referring to whether they needed a visa. “I don’t trust that anymore.”

While Spanish citizens do not require a visa for Puerto Rico, they must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ESTA) before arrival — a crucial detail ChatGPT allegedly omitted. The oversight left them stranded, fuelling online mockery and debate over the reliability of AI for travel planning.

“Natural selection, I guess,” one TikTok user wrote. “If you’re taking a transoceanic trip and rely entirely on ChatGPT, you get what you deserve.” Others argued the couple may have asked the wrong question instead of checking official sources.

Adding a wry twist, Caldass joked the AI had sabotaged them as “revenge” for her past insults: “Sometimes I call it useless — maybe this was payback.”

The incident follows another troubling case in which a 60-year-old American man was hospitalised for three weeks after ChatGPT advised him to replace table salt with sodium bromide, a toxic pool-cleaning chemical. Doctors documented the case in a medical journal, noting the AI still recommends the substance without safety warnings.

Experts caution that while AI tools like ChatGPT can be useful, they are no substitute for official information. “AI is only as reliable as the data it’s trained on,” said Dr Elena Torres, a digital ethics researcher at NYU. “Blind trust can have real-world consequences.”

Despite the ordeal, Caldass and Cid eventually made it to Puerto Rico to attend a Bad Bunny concert.