British Airways wrecks 82-year-old woman’s Mallorca holiday by applying incorrect passport rules

Airport staff working for British Airways turned away an 82-year-old passenger by wrongly claiming her passport was not valid for travel to Spain – and cost her a week of her holiday.

Hazel Little, a retired local government officer, was booked on a British Airways charter flight from Southampton airport to Palma de Mallorca on Saturday 26 August, along with her daughter Juliet.

But staff at the BA check-in at Southampton refused to allow Hazel Little to board.

Since Brexit, UK passports must be under 10 years old on the day of departure to the EU and have at least three months remaining before the expiry date on the date of return.

Hazel Little’s passport met both these conditions. The Independent has verified that the passport should have allowed her to travel outbound to the European Union up to and including 6 November 2023, for a stay up to 7 January 2024.

But Juliet Little said: “We were told there needed to be three months between our return date and the 10-year anniversary of the passport.”

This has never been the case – though for months easyJet, Ryanair and even the UK government perpetuated the myth until The Independent persuaded them to align with the actual European rules.

Had Juliet Little voluntarily decided to remain behind, she was at risk of losing the full cost of her holiday. She called her sister who was able to come to Southampton airport to collect her mother.

“We felt that I needed to travel, as we would be in an even worse position if I declined to travel.”

Since Hazel Little’s passport was valid, she would have been able to fly on the same day with any other airline to Palma. But the mother and daughter took the word of staff at Southampton airport that it was no use.

To try to salvage at least the second week of the fortnight’s holiday, Hazel Little set about obtaining a new passport. She travelled more than 100 miles from her home in Winchester to the nearest Passport Office with a fast-track appointment: Newport in South Wales.

With her new passport, she flew out a week later than planned. The British Airways flight was nearly three hours late, and the assistance booked at Palma de Mallorca did not materialise.

Hazel Little finally reached the hotel shortly before midnight, having missed more than half of the holiday.

Juliet Little said: “Through this initial error, and no fault of our own,…