Why do airlines invent passport rules – and what to do if you’re wrongly denied boarding a flight?

There have been a number of cases of airlines wrongly turning passengers away – costing them thousands

Good to go? Passport queue at Barcelona (Simon Calder)

The passport validity rules for UK travellers to destinations around the world are straightforward to find through official sources – notably Foreign Office travel advice.

Yet airlines continue to wreck holiday plans by wrongly claiming a passenger’s passport is not valid for travel.

British Airways is the latest. BA ground staff at London Gatwick turned away a Scottish passenger who was fully documented for a two-week holiday in Florida.

The airline has now apologised, saying: “This was human error by one of our colleagues and we’re in touch with our customer to apologise and put it right.”

The errant decision by BA staff to deny the passenger boarding follows many cases in which travellers to the European Union were wrongly turned away. For months, easyJet and Ryanair imposed rules of their own invention to turn away passengers with valid passports. Both airlines now comply with the EU regulations.

But why does any airline deny boarding to a passenger who complies with the red tape for their destination – and what can you do if it happens to you?

These are the key questions and answers.

What was the latest problem?

On 20 September 2024, ground staff working for British Airways at Gatwick airport turned away 62-year-old Kathleen Matheson from her flight to Orlando in Florida. She was on a two-week trip and carrying a UK passport valid for travel to the US (and many other countries) until November.

But BA staff claimed the US demands six months of passport validity. They insisted Ms Matheson would need a new passport in order to board a transatlantic flight.

Ms Matheson and her husband Allan, 56, showed proof from the Foreign Office website that her passport was valid. The ground staff ignored the evidence.

She then called the British Airways helpline – where the agent agreed with her interpretation of the US rules, but said they could not overrule the ground staff at Gatwick.

BA has now apologised for the extraordinary sequence of events.

The wrongful denial of boarding cost the couple thousands of pounds in lost bookings and additional spending, which they now hope to recoup from British Airways – along with statutory compensation.

They travelled two days later on a Virgin Atlantic flight to Orlando, having lost 48 hours of a two-week holiday because of BA’s decision. Ms Matheson said she was “devastated and exhausted with what has happened”.

Read more: EasyJet missed six opportunities to admit wrongly turning away a passenger

Aren’t passport problems usually Brexit related?

Yes. After the UK voted to leave the European Union and the government negotiated for British travellers to be “third-country nationals’, two conditions came into effect:

• A British passport cannot be older than 10 years on the day of entry to the EU.
• The passport must have at least three months remaining before the expiry date on the intended day of departure from the EU.

As The Independent verified at the time, these rules are independent of each other. So a traveller whose passport was issued on 1 January 2015 and is valid to 1 July 2025 can enter the European Union (or wider Schengen Area) on 31 December 2024 and stay for up to 90 days.

Inexplicably, easyJet, Ryanair and other travel firms – as well as the UK government and some media – muddled these two conditions, falsely claiming “passports expire after 10 years”.

Europe’s biggest budget airlines imposed a made-up rule that no British passport could be accepted for travel to the EU beyond nine years and nine months after its issue date. They wrongly denied boarding to thousands of passengers, who they later had to compensate, before finally falling into line with the actual rules.

Read more: Air passenger compensation: What are your rights when a flight goes wrong?

Why would airlines be so keen to turn away passengers?

Airlines can be penalised to the tune of thousands of pounds if they allow somebody to board a plane without the right paperwork for their destination. The standard US Customs and Border Protection fine for an airline “that transports to the United States an alien who does not have a valid passport” is $5,851 (£4,384) per passenger.

In addition, the airline will be required to fly the passenger back as soon as possible. If the next flight is full, a booked traveller may have to be offloaded to make room for the deportee.

Ground staff at international airports face immense challenge ensuring passengers are properly documented. They must interpret rules for a multiplicity of destinations for travellers holding passports issued by any of nearly 200 countries.

Their assessment takes place in a high-pressure environment, with the clock ticking down to the flight departure time.

Unsurprisingly staff sometimes err on the side of caution. In an uncertain situation, they may decide to turn passengers away rather than risk the wrath of their bosses for costing the airline thousands of pounds.

Read more: ‘You’re off the plane’: British Airways under fire as it breaks key rule turning away overbooked passengers

To err is human, and with such complexity the odd mistake is understandable?

Yes – even before Brexit, leading UK airlines occasionally wrongly turned away passengers with valid British passports heading for continental Europe.

But it is mystifying that BA, which flies many thousands of UK citizens to the US each day, should have document-checking staff who don’t know the most basic rule: that America has no minimum validity requirement for a British passport.

Someone whose passport was issued on 1 April 2014 and is valid to 1 January 2025 can fly to the US on New Year’s Eve 2024.

Read more: I’m a dual passport holder – but which one should I use?

What happens if I am wrongly denied boarding?

Always remain polite. First, study the rules as stated here for Europe and here for many other countries to ensure you are correctly documented. If you are sure of your status, invite ground staff to take a look themselves.

For the US specifically, this document from Customs & Border Protection makes it clear UK citizens “need only have a passport valid for their intended period of stay”.

Should these approaches not work, ask for a supervisor or manager to adjudicate. You could even as Mrs Matheson did, ring the airline’s customer service line.

Still no progress? Ask politely for the member of ground staff to put in writing the reason for denying you boarding. Some travellers have found that has concentrated the minds of the airline personnel, who have then reversed their original decision.

Read more: Why those airport boarding times matter – even if your flight is running late

Despite everything, I have been turned away ...

The best way to rescue your trip – and to demonstrate you have been unfairly treated – is to find another a seat on another airline, ideally on the same day from the same departure port, that is prepared to take you.

You may find the cost of a ticket extremely high. Assuming you are in the right, you will subsequently be able to reclaim the extra costs you incur as a direct result of the airline deciding to deny you boarding.

Will I get compensation – and recompense for money lost?

If you were denied boarding against your will from a flight leaving the UK or European Union, despite being properly documented, you are entitled to £220 for a journey of 1,500km or less, £520 for a trip over 3,500km, and £350 for anything in between.

In addition, the airline should reimburse you for costs directly incurred as a result of its failure to allow you to travel.

If you have lost a package holiday as a result of the wrongful denial of boarding, legal responsibility to refund you rests with the tour operator – which will probably recoup the cost from the airline. But that is not your problem.

Read more: Have I found the worst airport public transport link?