A British tourist heading to Spain with his wife had his holiday plans abruptly halted when he was informed at the airport that his passport was invalid due to a new rule.
Terry Winter, 56, from Oxford, had booked a two-week vacation to Tenerife with his wife Molly, 62. The couple had meticulously planned the trip, ensuring everything was in order, especially since Terry had not traveled abroad since 2018. Their passports were within their validity period, they had pre-booked an airport hotel for the night before their early morning flight, and had even arranged dinner plans.
However, their plans were derailed on the morning of Friday, 12 June. Upon arriving at Birmingham Airport and proceeding to check in their luggage with easyJet—having already obtained their boarding passes online—Terry's passport triggered an error when scanned.
"I put my suitcase on the check-in to get my tag, and that's when the warning sign came up through easyJet," Terry exclusively told the Mirror. He sought assistance from a staff member and was told, 'Your passport is not valid.'
Although Terry's passport had not expired, it had been issued more than 10 years earlier, failing to meet EU entry requirements. "I didn't know about this rule. I was shocked."
Under post-Brexit travel regulations, UK passports must have been issued less than 10 years prior to the date of arrival when visiting most European countries. Terry added: "There was nothing in my knowledge about this rule."
Two other individuals at the airport experienced the same issue simultaneously. "So this isn't just a one-off thing."
Just last week, a mother of three was unable to board her easyJet flight to Greece with her family due to the same passport mistake. She also discovered the issue at the airport and had to pay nearly £700 in additional fees, while another traveler was reportedly turned away for the same reason.
Terry expressed surprise that he had not been warned about the passport rule before arriving at the airport, having booked the holiday in January and entered his passport details on the easyJet website.
"They accepted the booking, didn't tell me there wasn't anything wrong at the time, and then three weeks before the flight, I had to put all my passport details in again to check in. It didn't flag anything again, and my boarding passes were downloaded," Terry remarked.
Terry asked an easyJet staff member at the airport, "How often does this happen?" to which they reportedly replied: "It happens daily with a lot of people." Terry added: "He said it will be happening all throughout the country."
Left "frazzled" at the airport, Terry had no choice but to urgently book an appointment through His Majesty’s Passport Office to obtain a new passport using the one-day premium service. His wife, whose passport was valid, chose to stay in the UK with him for support.
With no suitable appointments available in London due to the weekend, Terry secured a 9:10 am slot for Monday (15 June) in Peterborough. He and his wife traveled from Oxford to Peterborough the night before, booked a hotel, and attended the passport appointment on Monday morning. After a few hours, Terry was issued a new passport, and he quickly rebooked flights to Tenerife, departing on Tuesday, 16 June.
While he commented, "I'm just laughing the whole thing off," Terry said he has lost out on "almost £1,000" in additional costs for his first trip abroad in eight years. He explained that this included around £40 in extra fuel, £50 for the Peterborough hotel, just under £100 for another night at the airport hotel, around £400 for two people flying to Tenerife one-way, and £239.50 for his new passport.
He added that he lost around "£400 on the flights" he was unable to board originally, and said: "It's getting close to nearly £1,000, I've been inconvenienced by."
Terry also claimed that the day after his initial flight, on Saturday 13 June, he received a generic email reminder from easyJet warning passengers: "Please check your travel documents before you fly." In response, he said, "Well, that's pointless. The day after, you've already lost your flight."
A spokesperson for easyJet told the Mirror: "Unfortunately, Mr Winter was unable to fly as his passport did not meet passport validity rules. We remind customers during booking, check-in and by email before they travel to ensure they are aware of the travel documentation requirements for their trip, and it is customers’ responsibility to ensure they have valid documentation for travel."
EasyJet has a dedicated page on its website that warns passengers about passport rules and requirements, including for travel to the EU. As part of these warnings, it explains: "Please check your passport's expiry and issue date before you travel. If you're a UK passport holder travelling to the EU (except Ireland), or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican City or Switzerland, your passport will need to meet the following criteria: It must be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to depart from the EU or above countries; It must be no more than 10 years' old on the date of travel to the EU or above countries."
Visit the UK government’s advice page for more information. Citizens of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland may travel within Europe using a valid EU/EEA/Swiss National Identity Card or Passport Card. To renew or replace your passport, online or at the HM Passport Office, visit the government website.
