You can easily find passport validity rules for UK passengers travelling to destinations around the world from official sources, particularly the Foreign Office’s travel advice.
But airlines continue to disrupt passengers’ holiday plans by falsely claiming their passports are not valid for travel.
British Airways is the latest. British Airways ground staff at London Gatwick turned away a Scottish passenger with full documentation for a two-week holiday in Florida.
The airline apologized, saying, “This was a human error by one of our colleagues. We contacted the customer to apologize and rectify the situation.”
BA staff’s mistaken decision to refuse passengers boarding comes after a number of cases where travellers to the European Union have been unfairly turned away. easyJet and Ryanair have spent months imposing self-invented rules to turn away passengers with valid passports. Both airlines now comply with EU regulations.
So why would an airline refuse boarding to a passenger who complies with the bureaucratic rules of their destination? And what can you do if this happens to you?
Here are the key questions and answers.
What was the last problem?
On September 20, 2024, British Airways ground staff at Gatwick airport turned 62-year-old Kathleen Matheson away from her flight to Orlando, Florida. She was on a two-week trip and held a UK passport valid for travel to the US (and many other countries) until November.
But BA staff claimed the US required a six-month passport validity. They insisted Ms Matheson would need a new passport to board a transatlantic flight.
Mrs Matheson and her husband Allan, 56, showed proof from the Foreign Office website that her passport was valid. Ground staff ignored the evidence.
He then called the British Airways helpline, who confirmed his interpretation of US rules but said they could not override the decision of ground staff at Gatwick.
BA has apologised for the unusual series of events.
The unfairly denied boarding cost the couple thousands of pounds in lost bookings and additional expenses, money they are now hoping to recover along with legal compensation from British Airways.
They lost 48 hours of their two-week holiday because of BA’s decision and flew to Orlando on a Virgin Atlantic flight two days later. Matheson said he was “devastated and exhausted by what had happened”.
Read more: EasyJet missed six opportunities to admit it wrongfully turned away a passenger
Aren’t passport problems usually related to Brexit?
Yes. After the UK voted to leave the European Union and the government negotiated for British travellers to become “third-country nationals”, two conditions came into effect:
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It is not possible for a British passport to be older than 10 years from the date of entry into the EU.
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Your passport must have at least three months left before it expires on the date you plan to leave the EU.
Like Independent Once validated, these rules are independent of each other. This means that a traveler whose passport was issued on January 1, 2015 and is valid until July 1, 2025, can enter the European Union (or the wider Schengen Area) on December 31, 2024 and stay for up to 90 days.
Inexplicably, easyJet, Ryanair and other travel companies, as well as the UK government and some media outlets, have confused these two conditions and falsely claimed that “passports expire after 10 years”.
Europe’s biggest budget airlines imposed a fictitious rule that no British passport can be accepted for travel to the EU more than nine years and nine months after its date of issue. They wrongfully denied boarding to thousands of passengers and were eventually forced to compensate them before they were forced to comply with the real rules.
Read more: Air passenger compensation: What are your rights if there is a problem with your flight?
Why are airlines so keen to turn away passengers?
Airlines can be fined thousands of pounds if they allow someone to board a plane without the correct documents for their destination. The standard US Customs and Border Protection fine for an airline “carrying an alien without a valid passport to the United States” is $5,851 (£4,384) per passenger.
The airline will also need to fly the passenger back as soon as possible. If the next flight is full, the booked passenger may need to be deplaned to make room for the deported person.
Ground staff at international airports face a huge challenge in ensuring that passengers are properly documented. They must interpret rules for a multitude of destinations for passengers holding passports issued by any of nearly 200 countries.
Their evaluations take place in an environment of intense stress as the flight time approaches.
Unsurprisingly, staff are sometimes cautious. In an uncertain situation, they may decide to turn passengers away rather than risk the wrath of their bosses, which could cost the airline thousands of pounds.
Read more: ‘You’ve got off the plane’: British Airways criticised for breaking key rule by turning away overbooked passengers
To err is human, and can the occasional mistakes be understood in such a complex structure?
Yes, even before Brexit, major British airlines were occasionally unfairly turning away passengers with valid British passports bound for continental Europe.
But it is surprising that BA, which flies thousands of British nationals to the US every day, has document checking staff who do not know the most basic rule: there is no minimum validity requirement for a British passport in America.
Someone with a passport issued on April 1, 2014 and valid until January 1, 2025 can fly to the United States on New Year’s Eve 2024.
Read more: I have dual passports, which one should I use?
What happens if I am unfairly denied boarding?
Always be courteous. First, check the rules for Europe here and many other countries here and make sure you are properly documented. If you are confident in your situation, invite the ground staff to take a look for themselves.
For the US specifically, this document from Customs and Border Protection makes it clear that British citizens “only need to hold a passport valid for the duration of their intended stay”.
If these approaches don’t work, ask a manager or supervisor to make a decision or even call the airline’s customer service line, as Ms. Matheson did.
Still no progress? Politely ask ground staff to put in writing the reason for not boarding you. Some passengers find that this concentrates the airline staff’s minds and they later reverse their initial decision.
Read more: What airport boarding times matter – even if your flight is delayed
Despite everything, I was turned down…
The best way to salvage your trip and prove that you were wronged is to find another seat on another airline that is ready to take you on the same day, from the same departure port.
You may find the cost of a ticket to be prohibitively high. Assuming you are right, you may later be able to recoup the extra costs you incurred as a direct result of the airline’s decision to deny you boarding.
Will there be any compensation and compensation for the money I lost?
If you are refused boarding on a flight leaving the UK or the European Union, despite being duly documented, you are entitled to £220 for a journey of 1,500km or less, £520 for a journey of more than 3,500km and £350 for any journey in between.
The airline must also reimburse you for any costs incurred directly as a result of not allowing you to travel.
If you’ve lost a package holiday as a result of being unfairly denied boarding, the tour operator has the legal responsibility to refund you – they’ll probably be able to recover the cost from the airline – but that’s not your problem.
Read more: Did I just find the worst airport public transport connection?