Traveller left ‘out of pocket’ after airline messes up passport rules

A traveller in the UK says she has been left “devastated and exhausted” after she was mistakenly told she couldn’t board a flight to the US.
Kathleen Matheson was heading to Orlando with her husband but on arrival at London Gatwick, British Airways ground staff said she couldn’t fly because of her passport.
It’s expiry date was November 2024 and the staff said she needed at least six months validity for her to fly. They were in fact wrong.
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The US allows UK citizens to enter the country with no minimum validity requirements, meaning as long as they leave by the end of the expiry date, travellers can be admitted. Matheson and her husband both had the required Esta visas and had already checked in online.
She said she had already checked the rules and even had a print-out of the Foreign Office travel advice for the US. She also rang BA’s customer service line which confirmed she was in the right.
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“They agreed with me that the website was correct, but said it was the agents’ decision that was final.” she told The Independent. The advice was ignored by the ground staff.
So she raced to get a new passport and Esta and managed to fly out a couple of days later, but in doing so had to cancel some accommodation and car hire.
“This honestly has been so stressful.”
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A spokesperson for British Airways told The Independent: “This was human error by one of our colleagues and we’re in touch with our customer to apologise and put it right.”
Passengers are always advised to check the passport’s expiry date before booking an overseas trip, so there can be plenty of time to renew if necessary.
Even if a passport is within the expiration date, it doesn’t guarantee it will be accepted.
Some countries won’t let you enter unless your passport is valid for another six months after your departure – as this family who were meant to be enjoying a holiday in Greece found out the hard way.
The rules differ depending on the destination, so it’s best to check entry requirements before travelling.
Passports were in the headlines this week as an Australian couple were refused boarding due to what they called a “microscopic coffee stain”.
The rejection saw them having to fork out $3000 for new flights to Bali.
Sean Ferres and girlfriend Brooke Ashe were flying from the Gold Coast last week. But their hopes of a smooth getaway were dashed when Virgin Australia staff noticed a stain in Ashe’s passport and refused them boarding.
The couple then forked out for new tickets with Jetstar and arrived into Bali “with no hassles”.
This article was originally published by Stuff and has been reproduced here with permission.