Just in case you are wondering, here is an update for you.
![Smile :-)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
My husband and I booked our flights from Vienna to Malta. We showed up at the airport more than two hours in advance just in case there were problems. We wanted to make sure we would have time to sort any issues out before flight time. We were the first in line to check in. Sure enough, problem -- my husband didn't have a Shengen Visa, so they didn't want to put him on the flight. To be certain the airline didn't have any reason to refuse us boarding, we had apostilled our marriage certificate and had had it translated into English by a certified court translator. We also brought a law school textbook on European Union Law in hand, which as soon as the check in agent started to waffle, we placed on the check in desk in full view. I also had the relevant case law highlighted (the Metok case) and the decisions resulting from it. The check in clerk said he was not being paid to make a decision, so he called someone or some persons in a back office somewhere, mentioned that we had a book on EU Law on the counter, and then turned to us to assure us that some higher ups from Air Malta would be coming out to review the documents personally. We waited about 15 minutes without seeing anyone. In the meantime, they continued to check passengers into the flight. I though for sure that asking us to step aside and wait for the higher ups was a ruse to get us out of the way so they could finish checking in the flight without a scene and then they would just say "Oops! Sorry, you can't be boarded,." Just about the time when I began to get worried and antsy, two people who said they were Air Malta officers came up to us. They reviewed the documents, the translation, and in less than 3 minutes, advised us that we could board the plane. We were handed our boarding passes and off to MAlta we flew. In Malta, there was no immigration check, so we walked out of the airport and into "freedom." And here we are.