One of Europe’s leading airlines is wrongly turning away UK passengers whose passports comply with post-Brexit EU rules.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has told The Independent that it regards British passports as expiring after 10 years, even if the actually expiry date is months later.
This is contrary to the European Union rules on passport validity for nationals from a “third country”, as the UK has opted to become after Brexit.
A British passport must meet two conditions for travel to the EU:
- It must have been issued less than 10 years ago on the day of entry to the EU country
- It must be valid for at least three months after the intended date of return from the EU
The European Commission in Brussels has made it clear that these rules are independent of each other; a passenger with a passport issued on 1 November 2012 could travel to the EU (and wider Schengen area) any time up to 31 October 2022, so long as the expiry date met the second condition.
But KLM insists that no passport can have been issued more than nine years, nine months ago.
KLM’s policy came to light after one passenger, Robert Banks, was turned away from a flight from Newcastle to Amsterdam on 22 July 2022.
His passport was issued on 8 August 2012, allowing him to travel to countries within the EU up until 7 August 2022. It expires on 8 April 2023, more than eight months after the intended scheduled return.
Since he had been wrongly denied boarding, Dr Banks applied for statutory compensation under European air passengers’ rights rules as well as recompense for his air fare and lost accommodation costs.
Dr Banks had spent £3,000 on flights and hotels for himself and his wife for a combined holiday and attendance at a conference.
Because of KLM’s decision, the couple were due a full refund of air fares plus cash compensation of £220 per person under European air passengers’ rights rules.
Dr Banks complained to the airline, and received a response from Andreas Possehn of the Air France-KLM legal affairs department, who wrote: “I can confirm that the rules for entry into the EU/Schengen area are that passports may only be valid 10 years max.
“So for a visit you have to count 10 years minus the three months to check validity to enter Schengen.”
Dr Banks took his case to The Independent, which contacted KLM.
An airline spokesperson insisted it was the passenger’s mistake, saying: “The rules and regulations evolve but the customer was denied to board because he did not fulfil the…
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