Woman turned away from 'dream' TUI holiday flight at airport due to Brexit passport rule

A British holidaymaker claims she missed out on her £1,050 dream holiday because of a little-known EU passport rule.

Kirsty Hawes, 28, booked an all inclusive holiday to Mallorca, Spain with her best friend through TUI. The teacher ensured her passport was in-date and it was due to expire on March 2024 so she headed to Luton airport on August 16.

However, she was informed she couldn't fly because her passport was issued on August 15, exactly 10 years and one day prior. Due to post-Brexit passport rules, British travellers wanting to visit Europe need to have a passport that was issued within the past 10 years.

Kirsty said she "had no idea" of the rule and that it wasn't made clear to her when making the booking through TUI. However she admits it was in the small print on the confirmation email.

She also claims she cannot get a refund and now wants other people to be aware of the rule before going on holiday.

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Kirsty, from Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, said: “They took our passports and said you can’t fly. I thought it was a joke. But they were serious and said my passport was out of date. I said ‘no it’s not – it doesn’t run out for seven months’.

“I was panicking and burst into tears. This was the one thing I was looking forward to all year.”

Kirsty wanted to enjoy the relaxing holiday after several friends and family members had died. Her friend booked the holiday on their behalf in April and added their passport number and expiration date on the form - but this didn't include the issue date.

The friends turned up at Luton airport at 3.30pm on August 16 2023 ready for their flight but when they went to drop their bags off