My family holiday was ruined after I was banned from my flight due to easy mistake – I cried my eyes out
A MUM was left in tears after a common mistake meant she was banned from her flight – and her family had to leave her behind.
Stephanie Buckley and her family were flying from London Gatwick to Zante with TUI.
Stephanie was due to jet off with her husband Gareth and the couple’s four children aged 10, seven, five, and three.
But when the family arrived at the check-in desk to drop off their suitcases, Stephanie was told she wouldn’t be able to travel.
Under new passport rules, Brits are no longer allowed to use any additional months left on passports that are over a decade old.
Even though Stephanie’s passport wasn’t due to expire until December 27, 2023, the passport was over 10 years old as the start date was march 27, 2013.
Stephanie told Sun Online Travel: “I renewed two of the children’s passports back in March.
“At the time, my husband pointed out that mine had less than six months on it but I told him that it would be fine.
“I went onto the Greek embassy website and checked their passport requirements, which said you needed three months left on the passport.”
“When I checked into the flight online, nothing flagged up on the system.
“It wasn’t until we arrived at the bag drop, that I was told that I wouldn’t be able to board.
“Everyone was in a state of shock, and my husband even said that we wouldn’t go on holiday.
“But I knew we wouldn’t get our money back, and we couldn’t afford another holiday. At this point, all the children were crying.”
Stephanie, who is the Director of The Solve Co, a company aimed at solving business challenges, encouraged her family to board the flight without her, while she set about getting a new passport.
She said: “I didn’t even have a handbag, so I took my daughter’s backpack, my phone, phone charger, and a cash card.”
In a bid to get a new passport, the mum-of-four, from Somerset, headed to the passport office in London only to find it closed.
She added: “I sat down and cried my eyes out.”
Stephanie stayed at a friend’s house in London, where she spent her evening attempting to book an appointment at the passport office.
Eventually, she managed to book an appointment at the passport office in Glasgow.
To make her appointment, Stephanie paid for a train ticket from London to Glasgow, booked a hotel room in the city, and booked herself onto a Jet2 flight from Glasgow to Zante, which left her hundreds of pounds out of pocket.
She added: “I was really nervous about going to the check-in desk because I’d had to book my replacement flight with my old passport.”
But at the check-in desk, Stephanie’s passport details were updated on her boarding pass without any additional charges being added.
While Stephanie rushed to get a new passport, her original flight, which her husband and children had boarded, had been delayed.
The delay was because Stephanie’s suitcase had been checked into the plane but a passenger couldn’t be identified.
Gareth, Stephanie’s husband, had to confirm the identity of the suitcase before the plane could leave.
She added: “It meant the plane had missed its runway slot, and was delayed by 90 minutes.
“Everyone was really annoyed with my husband on that flight.”
Even though Stephanie was able to meet her family in Zante, she said the holiday had been “tainted” by the experience.
Stephanie has shared her story in a bid to warn other holidaymakers about the little-known passport rule.
She added: “All TUI needs to do is add another drop-down box where passengers enter the issue date of their passport, which would easily flag any issues.”
A TUI spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: “We’re sorry that Ms Buckley was unable to fly on holiday as planned as her passport did not meet the required government requirements.
“We regularly remind our customers that it is their responsibility to check that all travel documents are up to date before booking any flights, and we continue to encourage customers to check their passports after booking with us via confirmation and countdown emails.”
But Stephanie isn’t the only holidaymaker who has been affected by the new passport rules.
Earlier this year, teacher Rosie Simpson was banned from boarding her flight to Paris for a similar reason.
And, holidaymaker Kirsty was also caught out by the new passport rule earlier this week.