Mum banned from TUI flight to Spain after making easy mistake

A MUM was banned from boarding her flight to Spain with her son after she made an easy mistake with her passport.

Mum Shirelle Quinn was due to fly to Alicante from Newcastle Airport with her son Freddy.

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However, when she went to check in for her TUI flight, she was told her passport was actually out of date.

Her passport was issued on August 9, 2012, meaning it was out of date for her flight on August 13.

This is because of rules which Brits now have to follow since leaving the EU.

Passports can only be 10 years old, despite older passports being 10 years and nine months old.

Shirelle told Liverpool Echo: “I was just gutted for my little boy. He was in tears, but I was quite calm.

“It wasn’t the staff’s fault, it was my own.

“They couldn’t let me fly because I might have been refused entry when I arrived in Spain.”

Shirelle, who had paid £2,000 for the TUI holiday, had to make a frantic dash to the passport office in Durham to get a last-minute emergency passport.

After forking out £177 for the new passport – and £457 for new flights – they eventually made it out the next day.

While she praised the Passport Office, Shirelle slammed TUI who said they wouldn’t be able to help her get to her hotel which was 40 miles from the airport after missing her original flight.

A TUI spokesperson said they understood her disappointment but had to follow the “FCDO’s passport validity guidance which clearly state passengers’ passports must not be more than 10 years old on the date they enter their destination”.

They added: “Unfortunately Ms Quinn’s passport did not meet this requirement and we therefore could not allow her to board the flight. We always do our best to support customers and this passport guidance is available on the TUI website during the booking process.”

“It’s the customer’s responsibility to ensure that their travel documents are valid for the destinations they are travelling to, as clearly stated in the booking process.

“As Ms Quinn has booked a new flight with another airline, we advise her to reach out to her travel insurance provider to see if they are able to support with compensation or refunds for any services lost.”

Other passengers have been banned from their flights for the same reason.

A four-year-old boy was turned away from his flight to a similar problem with his passport expiry.

And a woman’s £2,000 holiday was ruined for the same reason.

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