A leading ferry operator says it will no longer turn away passengers heading for France if their passport is full of border stamps.
The Independent contacted Condor Ferries after Lisa Fairhurst, 54, was denied boarding a ferry from Jersey to the French port of St-Malo.
Ms Fairhurst, an accountant from Wigan, had planned a two-centre holiday combining Jersey with St-Malo. She paid £35 for the 85-minute voyage on 21 August.
But when she arrived at the island’s main port, Condor Ferries staff refused to allow her on board because her British passport had no space for stamps.
Since Brexit, EU border officials are obliged to stamp UK passports on arrival and departure. Each round- trip uses up half a page of a passport, and frequent travellers can quickly find their travel document has no space.
At the time of Ms Fairhurst’s journey, the company insisted: “Passports should have at least two blank pages for entry and exit stamps.”
There is no such rule. The Schengen Area border code, which controls access from the UK into most European nations, makes clear that a traveller whose passport is full should be given a piece of paper “to which further stamps can be affixed”.
The border code states: “The lack of empty pages in a passport is not, in itself, a valid and sufficient ground to refuse the entry of a person.”
Ms Fairhurst told The Independent: “At the time I was very upset as I was travelling to Mont Saint Michel the following day. I lost all my accommodation and excursion costs as the cancellation was so late.
“Also, as a lone female traveller it was very stressful trying to find a room in Jersey in August at such short notice.”
To make matters worse, Ms Fairhurst became concerned about a family holiday planned for September. As she had been led to believe that her passport was not valid for travel to Europe, she paid to bring forward her flight home from Jersey in order to apply for a new document.
“This has caused additional unnecessary stress,” she said. In total the decision to deny her boarding triggered costs of £350.
Condor Ferries has agreed to reimburse the ferry fare and her hotel costs in Jersey and St-Malo, totalling £280. She has also…
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