I was forced to leave my son at Ryanair check-in as ‘confusing’ passport rule wrecked our family holiday

A MUM was forced to leave her son at a Ryanair check-in after a confusing passport rule ruined their holiday.

Ana Tiganescu was told at Leeds Bradford Airport she couldn’t board a Ryanair flight to Portugal for a long-awaited family holiday.

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The University of Leeds scientist was stunned when a member of staff from the airline told her she couldn’t travel, reports The Mirror.

Ana was barred from the flight despite having six months left before her UK passport expired because it was issued more than 10 years ago.

Her family were forced to make a split second decision, only to be told their hold luggage would have to remain in the UK with Ana as she had checked it in.

Ana, who is now spending Easter alone, has written a letter of complaint to the Government.

She said: “This was a huge shock and very distressing for us all – especially my son, who didn’t understand why I wasn’t allowed to go with them.

“I was left very upset, in shock, and humiliated, waiting for an unspecified amount of time, almost 2 hours, for a Ryanair steward to escort me back through security.

“This situation was deeply distressing. When I finally made it back out of the airport, I was in such a state that I couldn’t remember my postcode for a taxi home.

“I think it will be complete chaos this summer, when people begin travelling again for the first time since the pandemic.

“No one is going to look at their passports if they have a year left. The Government claims they sent a million text messages about this in 2019, but that was only to people who gave their phone numbers when they applied for a passport ten years ago.

“For such disruptive changes, likely to affect thousands of UK people, I believe it is the responsibility of the government to ensure the public are fully aware.

“Everyone affected by this rule change should have been notified individually that their passports would no longer be valid for EU travel, even if still in-date – this contradiction is very confusing.

“This situation is not helped by airlines not being under any obligation to check passport issue dates at the point of booking – a simple change that leaves time to update documents if necessary,”

Since leaving the EU, UK citizens face stricter passport requirements which differ depending on the member states.

Recently, Brits were warned to check their passport in advance before jetting off.

Portugal require someone’s passport to be less than 10 years old on the day you enter and valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave.

The government has asked the European Commission to clarify the 10-year rule but guidance may not be updated until “the spring of 2022”.

Current official guidance on the UK government travel advice page for Portugal states: “Check both the issue date and the expiry date in your passport.

“If you renewed your passport early, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. This could affect the requirement for your passport to be less than 10 years old.”

It comes after Brits were forced to cancel holidays after facing a 10 week wait to get a new passport.