A family’s eagerly anticipated summer holiday was thrown into chaos and heartbreak after a last-minute passport discrepancy forced them to leave their 11-year-old son behind at Manchester Airport.
Chris and Michelle O’Neill, along with their children, were moments from jetting off to the sunny resort of Salou in Spain when airline staff spotted a critical issue. Their son, 11-year-old Bailey, was denied boarding because his passport was issued more than five years ago, a rule the family was tragically unaware of.
The Agonising Decision
Faced with the devastating prospect of everyone missing the holiday or just Bailey staying behind, the family made an impossible choice. Michelle’s mother, who had come to see them off, took Bailey home to Macclesfield while the rest of the family, including Bailey’s younger sister, boarded the flight in tears.
‘Our Holiday Was Ruined’
"It was awful, just heart-breaking," Michelle recounted. "We were all crying at the gate. We had to split up our family. The whole holiday was ruined because we were all just worrying about Bailey and feeling guilty for going without him."
The family had booked their package holiday with tour operator TUI. They maintain that at no point during the booking process or in their pre-flight documentation were they warned about the specific passport rule for children.
A Little-Known Passport Rule
While adult British passports are valid for ten years, passports for children under 16 are only valid for five years. Many families fall foul of this rule, assuming the expiry date is the only thing that matters. However, for travel to many EU countries, a child’s passport must not be more than five years old from its issue date, regardless of its expiry.
The O’Neill family is now seeking a refund from TUI for the portion of the holiday their son missed, arguing that clearer warnings should be provided to prevent other families from suffering the same emotional ordeal.
