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Meg Gordon was expected to fly to Portugal with her husband Andy and their 16-year-old twins, Jasmine and Dylan, on Saturday. They arrived at Newquay Airport in Cornwall, checked in their luggage and went through security, but a floor member saw a challenge with Meg’s passport moments before boarding the Ryanair plane.
And Meg’s vacation, the family’s first since the COVID-19 pandemic, was cancelled because staff pointed out that regulations had been replaced since the UK left the European Union.
Meg, who now has £2,000 left in her pocket, said: “A floor staff member checked my passport, told me it was expired. I replied: ‘I’m sorry, I think you’re wrong, it’s valid until April 2023. ‘”No, it is not” – ten years from the date of issue, in my case July 8, 2012.
“I was then informed that the UK was no longer part of the EU, so the regulations had been replaced and I would not be able to travel. I was taken back to the busy boarding gate in front of everyone while my circle of relatives was still waiting. to board the plane. “
Portugal is one of the 26 European countries in the Schengen domain of free movement. Now, Schengen countries insist that passports must be no more than ten years old from the date of issue. This means that many of those who think their passports are valid because they don’t have to expire for a while would possibly be denied access to EU countries.
But Meg, a mother of two, told Cornwall Live that the airport, used through British Airways, showed a lack of compassion.
Meg, who works for the NHS in paediatrics, said: “We probably didn’t know this. I asked how I had checked in more than two hours ago without it being noticed, and I entered the main points of my passport when I bought the flights. They couldn’t answer.
“I was pleased that Andy, Jas and Dylan were moving on and said I would go out to move to London to renew my valid passport. The manager told me it was unlikely and asked for a decision. Then our luggage arrived. very temporarily and we were escorted out of the airport like criminals.
“It was not imaginable that they would take you to a side room and say: ‘we will collect your luggage for you’ or ‘we will call Portugal for you and do everything we can’; this would possibly be a discretionary resolution of the country of destination. No discretion was made, no appeal to immigration to Portugal, no help was given to reorganize flights, car rentals, returning home, etc. , and surely there was no compassion. I would hate for anyone else to revel in what I just delighted in. It’s another Brexit/Boris ‘stitched’ and shocking service for Cornwall airport visitors. “
Meg’s husband, Andy, wrote to the General Manager of Cornwall Airport in Newquay, to Cornwall Council Executive Director Kate Kennally, because he owns the airport, and to Newquay MP Steve Double to voice their concerns. In the email, Andy said: “We were in a state of shock, misery and shame. I can’t really be how disappointed, disappointed and devastated our circle of relatives were by the way the airport staff treated us. “
Meg and Andy, who worked on the NHS start-up, lost £2,000 in flights, car hire and holiday plans as a result of the misunderstanding.
She added: “My husband went back to the airport to make sure all the bases had been covered and the visitor service representative said, ‘Well, what’s new with the passport, it’s still valid. ‘She didn’t know at all. ” This shows that he is largely open to anyone’s interpretation.
“We just want to raise awareness among others, especially in Cornwall, which will be the hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis. “
Newquay Airport said its terminal team is in direct contact with the circle of family members involved as “we are investigating further internally. “
A Ryanair spokesman said: “This passenger was kindly denied because her passport did not meet the EU (Portugal) access requirements, which are:
“This passenger’s passport was issued on July 8, 2012 and is therefore no longer valid for entering or leaving the EU after July 8, 2022, as the passenger was outdoors for the 10-year validity period.
“Ryanair asks each and every passenger to ensure that their passport is valid on both the date of their outbound flight and the date of their return flight. “