Check your passport before travelling – I’d be £500 richer if I did

The trouble started at the departure gate (Picture: Abigail Watson)

Holidays are such precious moments, especially for those of us who don’t take them that often due to work pressures and expense. 

So when our second ever overseas holiday as a family was nearly ruined in April because of a little known Brexit rule, you can imagine how upset I was. 

The trouble started at the departure gate. 

Our family of four had already checked ourselves and our luggage in and had the quintessential English breakfast before moseying down to board our flight to Mallorca. 

Then, when it was finally our turn to board, we were stopped in our tracks. 

‘Your passport has expired,’ the check-in lady said curtly.  

Confident I knew I had more than the requisite six months left on my passport, I promptly corrected her: ‘No, it hasn’t, it expires in December.’ I said. 

It also has to have a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the arrival date (Picture: Lyanne Nicholl)

That’s when she informed me that, since Brexit officially came into effect in January 2020, the rules on flying to an EU country had changed. 

UK passports not only need an ‘expiry date’ of at least three months after the day you plan to leave now, but it also has to have a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the arrival date. And my passport’s issue date was March 2015. 

What should have been a routine procedure quickly became a humiliating experience. The queue behind us was silent and gawping, and as I looked from her impassive face to the confusion on my young sons’ faces, my stomach dropped. 

A marginally more empathetic member of staff then came to speak to us but, sadly, he only confirmed my fears – there was nothing he could do. 

My passport’s issue date was March 2015 (Picture: Lyanne Nicholl)

My husband heroically offered to stay with me, but not wanting to jeopardise our whole holiday, I packed him and my sons off with a grimly determined expression; there was no way they were missing out because of this Brexit induced farce. 

As soon as they were out of sight though, I broke down.  

Being separated from my family in that way and being escorted through the airport like some kind of criminal was horrendous. I felt distressed, anxious and deeply upset. 

While the gate staff did try to offer a sliver of hope, telling me I could go to the passport office in Victoria that day and fly tomorrow, this advice turned out to be utterly false – the passport office is no longer in Victoria and you cannot get same-day appointments. 

Being separated from my family in that way and being escorted through the airport like some kind of criminal was horrendous (Picture: Lyanne Nicholl)

Nevertheless, I am nothing if not a woman of action and managed to book a passport appointment for two days later and a new flight which I, rather daringly, booked for the same day as my passport appointment before I had even left the airport. 

The passport application fee cost £222 and a further £300 for another flight, trains to and from Gatwick and a taxi for when I finally arrived in Mallorca – two days later. 

I will never see that £500 again because, despite complaining to the airline, they have made it clear to me that they do not feel that this is their issue as they do prompt passengers to check they have valid ID before travelling. They have offered me £13 to cover Government taxes. 

I’d argue, however, that they have a responsibility to passengers and should be informing them exactly what the ‘new’ rules are for travelling. That means flagging that passport validity, and soon the rules around visas, has changed for EU countries.  

I will never see that £500 again (Picture: Lyanne Nicholl)

After all, if airlines can prompt you a gazillion times to book extra legroom, extra baggage or a designated seat (all for a price), then there’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to flag that your passport is invalid when you check in for your booked flight. 

It doesn’t need to be more complicated than an informative pop-up on their sites about post-Brexit travel rules or simply not allowing you to check-in online if your passport is not valid for travel. 

If these things were in place it would stop the 100,000 passengers a year who, like me, have been blindsided by this subtle rule. 

I’ve heard of families who have had to abandon their holiday entirely with no reimbursement as one child had an ‘out of date’ passport or an elderly couple who were refused boarding and had to leave their friends on the plane with no idea what had happened to them.  

Strangely, that makes me one of the lucky ones – and I still lost over 48 hours of a much-needed family holiday and a great deal of money.  

Don’t get caught out like we did: Check your documents, check the entry requirements for the country you’re visiting and be prepared as best you can. 

I may have made it to Mallorca in the end, but I certainly did it the hard way.

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