“We are looking into this with our ground handling partner” – so repeats easyJet, after staff working for Britain’s biggest budget airline wrecked yet another family holiday by inventing their own rules on passport validity.
Four years on from the post-Brexit passport rules coming into effect, many travel firms are causing needless upset and expense to people who are fully documented to travel. Even taking into account the large number of passengers that easyJet handles, the airline seems particularly prone to wrecking people’s holidays needlessly – most recently a 50th birthday family trip to Paris.
What should you do if this happens to you? This is a step-by-step guide.
Know the rules
After the UK decided to leave the European Union and make British passport holders “third-country nationals” along with Venezuelans and Samoans, the passports of UK travellers must meet two conditions:
- No older than 10 years on the day of outbound travel to the EU.
- At least three months to expiry date on the intended day of leaving the EU.
Many people are being correctly turned away – usually for breaching the first of these conditions. If your passport has had its 10th birthday since the date of issue, you are no longer eligible to travel to the European Union (except Ireland) or wider Schengen area – which includes Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
For other countries, the rules on passport vary widely. Many key destinations for British travellers, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, Tunisia and the US, have no minimum validity requirement. Others require six months before expiry.
No other country outside the Schengen area has any interest in the issue date of your passport; they only look at the expiry date.
I know my passport is valid but the airline says it isn’t
This is an extremely stressful and upsetting position for any passenger to be in. It is made all the more difficult because these mistakes are typically made while boarding, with the minutes ticking away. And if someone who works in aviation is telling you that you are in the wrong, it is tricky to prove otherwise.
But please remain polite and respectful at all times. If a member of ground staff wrongly says your valid passport is not acceptable, that indicates a serious management failing by the airline – it is not the errant individual’s sole responsibility.
What are my options if I am challenged?
If time allows and you have a smartphone to hand, draw the staff member’s attention to the official Foreign Office guidance (search FCDO plus the name of your destination country) for entry requirements.
You can also refer them to pages 28 and 29 of the Schengen area’s Practical Handbook for Border Guards, which makes the rules doubly clear.
Try, if you like, linking to this explainer from The Independent. You can also point out the cost to the airline of wrongly denying boarding: a minimum of £220 in cash compensation, plus the additional expenses triggered by the mistake.
Ask for a supervisor to be consulted. In all too many cases, though, the supervisor sides with the erroneous ground staff – again, revealing big performance management issues. In the most recent case, the supervisor referred to an iPad which appeared to repeat the wrong answer.
Unfortunately, if a member of airline staff says you are not getting on the aircraft, all you can do is accept the decision and plan your next move.
But I am travelling with family/friends …
If you are travelling with others, and they decide not to fly, there is no guarantee that they will be financially compensated. Were the case go to court, though, a judge might well conclude the airline is responsible for the whole party’s costs,
Initially in this latest incident, easyJet declined to provide compensation for the family members, arguing that they could continue with the birthday trip to Paris – even though the person whose 50th it was was wrongly denied boarding.
What happens next?
Ideally the error will have occurred at bag drop rather than at the departure gate. In this case you can immediately try to rebook on another airline whose staff understand the passport rules.
Mostly, though, such problems are created at the departure gate. In this position you will need to be escorted from “airside” to the international arrivals area, retrieving any checked baggage along the way.
While this happens, use your smartphone see what other flights are available to your destination – ideally, of course, from the same airport.
Whatever the cost, the airline that has wrongly turned you away will need to reimburse you. If only business class seats are available, take a screenshot to provide proof when challenged, but go ahead and buy.
As long as you are confident that your passport is valid, do not attempt to get an appointment for an emergency renewal. There is no need, and it will simply complicate matters.
Once you arrive at your destination, you can enjoy what is left of your trip.
Budget airlines such as easyJet do not automatically cancel the inbound leg if you do not take the outbound flight, but other carriers may do so – you will have to check. If the return leg has been cancelled you will need to buy another ticket home.
How do I go about claiming?
It should be a straightforward matter of contacting the airline’s customer service team and supplying the necessary evidence: booking reference, scan of the photo page of your passport to prove it was valid, and receipts for additional costs.
You are entitled to reimbursement of the financial losses the travel firm caused, plus – in the case of a flight – cash compensation of between £220 and £520, depending on the length of the journey.
Regrettably, there have been repeated cases of airlines, particularly easyJet, doubling down when contacted – insisting the passenger is wrong and the ground staff are right.
I do not advise going to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) because I have seen too many examples of adjudicators also getting the rules wrong.
You may need to go to Money Claim Online to recover what is owed to you – though before you do this, send a Letter Before Action to signal your intention.
What action is taken against the airline?
None. Under present legislation, there is no penalty for carriers beyond paying recompense and compensation for denying boarding wrongly, nor for rejecting legitimate claims.
What about compensation for the needlessly caused emotional upset?
That is unlikely to be forthcoming, though a contrite travel firm may choose to offer you a complimentary trip to make up for their error.
Will travel insurance help?
It should not be necessary to claim on your insurance, because the travel firm is solely responsible. You may, though, be able to claim for the odd £50 or so for delayed arrival.
I paid a fortune to renew my passport because the travel firm wrongly said I needed to do so. Can I claim?
Yes. Under the Consumer Rights Act, companies are supposed to act with “reasonable care and skill”. Getting the EU passport rules wrong – four years after I told them what the conditions were – does not indicate much professionalism.
For example, Tui – Europe’s biggest holiday company – told a customer on its official advice page: “You no longer get the extra months due to the 10-year rule, so your passports expiry will be 10 years from the issue date, making it 02.11.25 and not 02.05.26 as printed on your passport.” After The Independent intervened, the false information was renewed.
How long will these cases keep happening?
I fear until September 2028 – 10 years after the last UK passports valid for over a decade were issued.
