A British holidaymaker was left stranded at Birmingham Airport and forced to pay nearly £1,000 in extra costs after a common passport mistake derailed his first trip abroad in eight years.
Terry Winter, 56, from Oxford, was due to fly to Tenerife with his wife Molly, 62, on 12 June. Despite having valid passports, Terry was turned away at check-in because his passport had been issued more than 10 years earlier, breaching post-Brexit EU entry rules. 'I didn't know about this rule. I was shocked,' he said.
Winter had booked the holiday in January and entered his passport details on the easyJet website without any issues. He also checked in online three weeks before departure, again without warnings. 'They accepted the booking, didn't tell me there wasn't anything wrong at the time,' he told the Mirror.
With no alternative, Winter booked an emergency passport appointment in Peterborough, incurring costs for fuel, hotels, and a new passport. He also had to rebook flights, bringing total losses to nearly £1,000. 'I've been inconvenienced by it,' he said.
Winter's experience is not isolated. Last week, a mother of three was unable to board an easyJet flight to Greece due to the same rule, and Winter said airport staff told him such issues occur 'daily'. Under current regulations, UK passports must be less than 10 years old on the date of entry to most European countries.
