The passport validity rules for UK travellers to destinations around the world are straightforward to find through official sources – notably Foreign Office travel advice.
Yet airlines continue to wreck holiday plans by wrongly claiming a passenger’s passport is not valid for travel.
British Airways is the latest. BA ground staff at London Gatwick turned away a Scottish passenger who was fully documented for a two-week holiday in Florida.
The airline has now apologised, saying: “This was human error by one of our colleagues and we’re in touch with our customer to apologise and put it right.”
The errant decision by BA staff to deny the passenger boarding follows many cases in which travellers to the European Union were wrongly turned away. For months, easyJet and Ryanair imposed rules of their own invention to turn away passengers with valid passports. Both airlines now comply with the EU regulations.
But why does any airline deny boarding to a passenger who complies with the red tape for their destination – and what can you do if it happens to you?
These are the key questions and answers.
What was the latest problem?
On 20 September 2024, ground staff working for British Airways at Gatwick airport turned away 62-year-old Kathleen Matheson from her flight to Orlando in Florida. She was on a two-week trip and carrying a UK passport valid for travel to the US (and many other countries) until November.
But BA staff claimed the US demands six months of passport validity. They insisted Ms Matheson would need a new passport in order to board a transatlantic flight.
Ms Matheson and her husband Allan, 56, showed proof from the Foreign Office website that her passport was valid. The ground staff ignored the evidence.
She then called the British Airways helpline – where the agent agreed with her interpretation of the US rules, but said they could not overrule the ground staff at Gatwick.
BA has now apologised for the extraordinary sequence of events.
The wrongful denial of boarding cost the couple thousands of pounds in lost bookings and additional spending, which they now hope to recoup from British Airways – along with statutory compensation.
They travelled two days later on a Virgin Atlantic flight to Orlando, having lost 48 hours of a two-week holiday because of BA’s decision. Ms Matheson said she was…
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