Category: Entry requirements

A Birmingham hol­i­day-maker claims she was stopped from get­ting on a Ryanair flight for her £700 Lan­zarote hol­i­day – due to a ‘tiny’ pass­port issue.

Rachael Norton-Voy­sey had been set to jet off to Lan­zarote from Birm­ing­ham Air­port for a five-day get­away with a friend on June 4.

But when the 33-year-old got to the board­ing gate, she said she was ‘shocked’ to be told she wouldn’t be able to fly by Ryanair staff due to a rip in her pass­port.

The pass­port has a 1.5cm rip along the right side of the photo page – but artist Rachael insists it doesn’t obscure any pic­tures or details.

Des­pite this, she claims staff were “petty” for not let­ting her fly, so her friend also decided to miss out on the hol­i­day and they were both forced to make the sad train jour­ney home. The UK Gov­ern­ment’s web­site offered her little solace – as it warns that any pass­port that is ripped is con­sidered dam­aged so should be replaced as you may not be able to fly. If you want to check entry requirements for Spain or any other country, see here. 

Detailing the damage, she says “The rip is on the right side of the pic­ture page, sort of just down from the top. It doesn’t go through any inform­a­tion, but it is a rip on the pic­ture page.”

“I under­stand where they’re com­ing from but it is really petty in my opin­ion. Even when they took us back through immig­ra­tion to the air­port, even the immig­ra­tion [staff mem­ber] said it was harsh.

“The jour­ney home was so sad. Both of us had worked so hard to get up to that point. It was so pain­ful. I did put in a com­plaint let­ter just say­ing that I thought it was a little bit mean and that they should be a bit more con­sist­ent con­sid­er­ing they’ve let me fly on this pass­port before.”

It should also be noted that passports generally need 3-6 months validity from the return travel date, and need to have both the first and last name spelt exactly as on the boarding pass. Additional or middle names are not required, although can be entered if you wish. British citizens should also note that a passport cannot be issued more than 10 years ago, if you plan on travelling from the UK to the EU, the only exception being travelling to Ireland. See more updates on EES here. 

Rachael and her friend are now hop­ing to fly to Lan­zarote in Septem­ber after they rearranged their Airbnb stay.

A spokes­per­son for Ryanair said: “This pas­sen­ger was cor­rectly refused travel from Birm­ing­ham to Lan­zarote as her pass­port was dam­aged and there­fore not valid for travel.” These rules are made clear on the Ryanair website. 

Lanzarote airport, like many others in the Schengen area, are experiencing some teething problems with the new EES rollout.

However, there are some ways of avoiding long queues upon arrival:

1. Avoid the peak times. These are generally on Sundays and Thursdays, between 4pm and 7pm, when many other flights from the UK and Ireland arrive into Lanzarote airport.
2. Travelling with an EU citizen? See if you can go through passport control as a group. Whilst some airports will allow this, others won’t, but you haven’t lost anything by asking. It helps if you can prove the relationship to your EU companion e.g. marriage certificate.
3. Be strategic with seat selection. Try and get an aisle seat, or a seat near the front or back of the aircraft. Often, both doors are used for disembarking at Lanzarote airport.
4. Short trip? Consider hand luggage only. That way, you won’t need to wait at bag drop on your return, or have to collect any bags when you arrive. Did you know that Jet2 allow a 10kg trolley bag plus a handbag or laptop bag free of charge?
5. Have your passport ready and check the validity. Plus check that you are not over-staying the 90/180 rule for UK passport holders.

Read more about EES here.

Missed a flight due to delays? See if you can claim compensation

Don’t travel uninsured. Your EHIC/GHIC generally only covers emergency situations during short stays. It is possible to get either 20% off single-trip or save 5% on annual cover for all your European stays.