Dad stopped from boarding easyJet flight at 'final stage' due to passport rule ends up having to pay £3,000
22.08.2023 - 12:35
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A dad says he had to pay £3,000 and drive 1,000 miles across Europe to join his family on holiday - after he fell victim to a little-known passport rule.
Peter Holt, 50, was turned away at the boarding gate for his flight to Croatia after being told his passport was out of date - despite it not expiring until next year. The financial planning consultant watched as wife Claire, 47, and sons Rocky, eight, and six-year-old-twins, Axel and Hunter boarded the easyJet flight without him.
Instead he drove 1,102 miles in his Mini Cooper from England through France, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia, before finally making it to Croatia. Prior to Brexit, UK passport holders could travel in and out of the EU as long as they held a valid passport - even if it expired the day after their return.
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But since 2021, UK passport holders travelling to any EU country will be denied entry ten years after their passport was issued - even if it still has extra months left. Peter got his passport in July 2013 and was able to carry over unexpired months, giving the expiry of March 2024.
But post-Brexit rules - which he had no idea about - brought this forward to July 2023. He's warning others because despite the rule, he was able to book the flights, check in online, drop his bags and get his boarding pass before being alerted.
Peter, from Guildford, said: "I was annoyed. We had booked the holiday in February, and it said nothing about an issue with the passport then. I had my boarding pass, been through bag check, passport control, yet now at the final stage I was turned away. It just didn’t - and still doesn’t - make sense."
Peter explained his