A Brit was left "stunned" after he was blocked from boarding a Ryanair flight to Spain as ground staff said his passport wasn't valid – even though the document met all the necessary requirements.
Under post-Brexit rules, UK passports need to be less than 10 years old on the day of travel, and must have at least three months remaining after you return.
Although the new rules have caught out plenty of passengers, Mark Starkey's passport met both requirements. However, he told the Independent that ground staff at Luton Airport still denied him boarding. He claims that after getting through security and the departure gate without issues, he was stopped from boarding by a member of staff.
READ MORE: Dad livid after airport worker scrawled very rude message on son's suitcase
READ MORE: Where you can fly to under £100 this month – including Christmas market hotspots
He explained: "The ground staff lady noted that I only had three days left on my passport from the day it was issued for the 10-year rule. I said that I knew and this was my last trip of the year before I got my passport renewed."
Although she initially waved him through, Mr Starkey says she called him back because she wanted to check with Ryanair's immigration team – but after phoning them, she told him his passport was not valid. When he asked to speak to senior management or the immigration staff, she allegedly denied his request and told him she was the supervisor. He added that he felt "stunned that I was completely stonewalled".
When he headed home, he checked his passport's validity and decided to book an easyJet flight to Spain the following day – which he boarded, using the same passport, without any issues.
A Ryanair spokesperson told the Independent: "We sincerely regret that this passenger was incorrectly denied travel by the handling agent at Luton airport, who wrongly believed that this passenger’s passport was not valid for travel to the EU. All UK nationals travelling to the EU must comply with the following entry requirements:
"Passports must be issued within 10 years of the date of arrival into the EU.
"The passport must be valid for at least 3 months from the return date of travel from the EU.
"A member of our Customer Service Department will contact this passenger regarding the error made by our handling agent at Luton airport."
As well as checking the issue and expiry dates on your documents, there are plenty of other checks to make such as ensuring you have enough blank pages left for stamps, or checking you look like your photo.
The latter proved an issue for one attractive woman who claims she had to order a new with an updated photo after border officials at Turkey didn't recognise her in the documents.
Joanne Prophet posted on TikTok, @joanneprophet, told her followers that she was updating the document because her photo no longer looks like her, after she underwent aesthetic treatments. Joanne noted that she had had a "glow up" since the snap was taken, but that it was "legit" her – and captioned the video: "That time i got interrogated by six members of passport control."
Have you been denied boarding due to the new passport rules? Email us at [email protected]
Source: Read Full Article