Be careful of what you wish for – especially when it comes to passport rules

This weekly column began in 1994. I calculate today’s is number 1,572. Never has there been a weekend when I have been stumped for a subject: the travel industry is constantly changing, innovating and faltering. Sometimes, the thing writes itself – or, even better, readers do the work for me. And so it has proved today.

The context: prospective travellers are being turned away from airports because they inadvertently fail to comply with the passport rules for visits to the European Union.

After Brexit, we asked to be subject to the “non-visa third country” conditions for entry to the EU and wider Schengen area. These require your passport to meet two tests:

I regularly publicise these conditions on social media, especially ahead of busy travel times. Each time, I get a barrage of responses – mostly contradicting my version of events. So allow me to give you a sample of the latest crop, and my view on them.

Jon Clodd: “This is nothing new, I got refused entry onto a ferry to Spain in 2014 because of an expired passport.”

That would have been because your passport had expired. The issue here is about passports that are in date and valid for travel to a wide range of nations – including the US, Australia and Tunisia – but which nevertheless cannot be used for travel to the EU.

Sara Lockwood: “Post–Brexit? These rules have been in place for years.”

Yes, the regulations about passport validity are long-standing – and the UK helped draw them up. But what is novel is our decision to request that we are treated in the same way as the fine citizens of Tonga and Venezuela.

Before Brexit, it was simple: your passport was valid for travel in the EU and wider Schengen area up to and including the expiry date. Not anymore.

Brian Read: “Many carriers insist on six months to expiry date.”

If they do – and wrongly deny you boarding – then you can claim for cash compensation in addition to recompense for additional costs. Most regrettably, easyJet and Ryanair continued to apply the wrong rules for many months, resulting in many passengers being wrongly denied boarding, until they finally agreed to accept The Independent’s version of the regulations.

David Smith: “Some…