Easyjet passport boarding Brexit rules: Airline made a fool of me – and then refused to admit mistake

In 2021, The Independent began campaigning for easyJet, Ryanair and the UK government to recognise the correct post-Brexit rules for British passport holders travelling to the European Union.

The passport must pass two tests:

But ministers and the two giant airlines ignored the evidence from the EU supplied by The Independent. They invented their own, more restrictive conditions for post-Brexit passport requirements. Both easyJet and Ryanair turned away travellers who were properly documented.

In 2022, they accepted The Independent’s representations and aligned with the actual rules. They continue to comply. Sadly many British travellers are still unaware of the tighter restrictions that the UK asked to be imposed on leaving the EU; hundreds of passengers are correctly denied boarding each day because their passports do not pass one or both of the tests.

Inevitably, occasional mistakes are made and a properly documented passenger may be wrongly refused travel.

If a member of ground staff at the departure gate wrongly denies boarding, a manager should be on hand to double-check the passport and travel dates. Should they also make the wrong call, the airline’s customer service team has a duty promptly to investigate the passenger’s appeal and make good for the distress and expense caused.

Yet readers have contacted The Independent to say easyJet has compounded errors at the airport by repeatedly rejecting legitimate claims for recompense and the compensation stipulated by law.

Jacqueline McGeough was turned away from a flight from Edinburgh to Naples. She and her daughter Eilidh lost their holiday. Knowing her passport was valid for travel to Italy, Ms McGeough appealed six time to easyJet. But on each occasion the airline doubled down, insisting it was right and she was wrong.

She has now written about the whole sorry saga.

“Everyone makes mistakes – and that’s OK. But I now know that easyJet have been making the same mistake for over two years: turning away passengers with valid passports.

On 9 April, the ground staff at Edinburgh didn’t just stop me from boarding their plane, they…