Family 'devastated' to miss out on £7k holiday due to tiny passport flaw

08 August 2023 , 09:59

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The Senior family did not get on the plane to Thailand (Image: Suzanne Senior)

A family missed out on a trip of a lifetime costing £7,000 because of a tiny issue with one of their passports.

Suzanne Senior, her husband Steven, their daughter Bethany and her boyfriend were all supposed to fly out to Thailand on Friday, to spend some quality time together exploring the islands around Phuket. What should have been a dream trip quickly turned sour when the family arrived at Manchester Airport and headed to check-in, where an employee noticed a defect in Bethany’s passport, Manchester Evening News reported.

There was a small rip on the 24-year-old's photo ID page so the employee refused to accept the damaged document, meaning Bethany was not allowed to fly. Suzanne and Steven decided to stay behind with their daughter while her boyfriend chose to travel to Thailand alone.

In a bid to salvage the trip, Suzanne paid another airline £5,000 so the three of them could go to Turkey. They flew out the same day, with Bethany's passport accepted this time.

Bethany was told she couldn't get on the flight (Suzanne Senior)

The passport had a small rip (Suzanne Senior)

Suzanne, a gran of six, said: “We’re absolutely devastated. We had plans to go and see the elephants, the islands, everything. We’d looked forward to that holiday for 12 months. I’m fortunate that I could go to that desk in Manchester Airport and book another holiday. Not everyone is in that position, they’d have to go home.

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“We couldn’t even see (the rip). Loads of people said there was nothing wrong with it. It’s a tiny millimetre tear. We don’t know why it was turned away."

Suzanne says the family also withdrew £3,000 worth of Thai baht currency which they are now unable to use, and are hoping to claim back on travel insurance.

If you're heading abroad this summer, there are some key passport checks to make before you even set off for the airport - and Brits are being urged to check documents weeks before they travel, to allow for leeway if you do need to renew your document.

While a tiny bit of wear and tear is unlikely to cause you issues at the airport, bigger rips and tears could leave you unable to board your flight. Officials may stop you from passing through if your personal details or observation page are unreadable, if the laminate is peeling or lifting away from the personal details page or your security details can't be made out.

Missing or detached pages could also be a reason why your passport is no longer considered valid. If the damage is not on the personal details or observation pages, and all visas, vignettes or immigration stamps are unaffected by the damage, security guards are unlikely to question you about its cause.

Paige Oldfield