A father has criticised TUI after he was allegedly refused boarding on a £4,000 holiday flight due to a small tear in his passport. Jimmy Gould, 48, was due to travel from East Midlands Airport to Lanzarote on July 28 with his partner, children, and extended family.
Mr Gould claims that a check-in staff member caused the damage by removing a sticker from his passport's data page, leaving a 10mm tear. He said he was told the passport was too damaged to use, forcing him to stay behind while his family travelled without him.
“It's a total nightmare and I'm absolutely fuming,” Mr Gould said. “I'm sitting home alone while they're in Lanzarote gutted and they all want to come home because of the situation.”
TUI confirmed that passengers cannot travel with passports containing stickers but stated that their agents are not trained to remove stickers from passports. Mr Gould's partner, Zowie Buckley, said the holiday has been “ruined” and that she feels anxious being abroad alone with the children.
An emergency passport application was unsuccessful, and the family is now considering returning early. The incident has left Mr Gould devastated, missing out on making memories with his family.
