A British woman forced to shell out £1,200 over a ‘slight mark’ on her passport was left fuming when another airline found ‘no issue’ with it.
Laila March thought she was getting a ‘cheap deal’ with TUI when she booked a week-long trip to Mexico with her younger sister Kaemarnie, 21, to celebrate her graduating from university.
But when they arrived at Gatwick Airport on June 7, 25-year-old Laila was told she couldn’t board the plane because her passport was damaged – despite using it to fly back from Morocco the day before.
As a last ditch attempt, due to not wanting her sister to travel alone, Laila bought a last-minute £1,200 ticket from British Airways – who had ‘no issues’ with her passport and would happily let her fly.
Laila, a private tutor from Croydon in south London, is currently studying to become a French and Spanish teacher. Paying the extra £1,200 put a dent in her savings she planned to use when she starts her postgraduate degree in education at the University of Cambridge.
She complained to TUI over the issue and despite being initially told the airline had closed her case, they have now agreed to reimburse her for the British Airways ticket more than two weeks on.
Laila said: ‘I think it’s just insane that TUI can say my passport is damaged and not allow me to board for fear I’m not going to be allowed into Mexico by passport control, and then for another airline to have no issue with the same passport, let me fly to Mexico and then I get through passport control.
‘I’m studying to become a teacher, I start in September, and that money was money that I had saved up towards getting myself set up for university.
It was a very small mark, almost like a little scratch on the right hand side of the page but you would have to look very carefully to see it – I hadn’t even noticed until they pointed it out.’
According to the UK Passport Office’s website, a passport is considered damaged if ‘you cannot read any of your details, any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing, there are holes, cuts or rips in the cover, the cover is coming away or there are stains on the pages, for example ink or water damage’.
Laila wanted to book a holiday to celebrate her little sister graduating from the University of Keele with a law degree.
The sisters were planning a one-week holiday at the Azul Beach Resort Riviera in Cancun, Mexico, for under £1,000 per person, flights included.
‘It was the first time we were going on holiday just the two of us,’ added Laila.
They arrived at the North Terminal TUI check-in desk two hours early, expecting to collect their tickets with plenty of time to relax before their flight.
Laila said the check-in assistant scanned their passports and was about to hand over their boarding passes when she spotted a small stain in the top right of her picture page.
After waiting 45 minutes, Laila was informed she could not board the plane.
She was given three options: to apply for an emergency passport and travel a few days later, to change the name on her booking so someone else could travel in her place, or to see if another airline would accept her passport.
‘They told me British Airways was flying out from the South Terminal this afternoon: “Maybe you could try with them?” explained Laila.
‘But you’ve just said that my passport was damaged, how can you recommend I use another airline?’
Laila did not want to ruin her sister’s graduation holiday but at the same time was concerned because she had never been travelling alone.
‘Ultimately, I had to find a way,’ she said.
‘I spoke to someone who works at Gatwick and showed them my passport.
‘I told them what TUI had said and he was like “that’s not damaged, go speak to British Airways and see what they say”.
‘”I don’t see why they wouldn’t let you board”.’
Upon arrival, Laila was still apprehensive, thinking Mexican border control could still turn her away but again, they examined her passport and waved her through.
‘I gave them passport and they looked at the mark,’ said Laila.
‘I understood what they were saying because I speak Spanish. They were saying her passport isn’t damaged because no pages have been ripped out, you can still scan it and everything is clear, readable and you can see her face.’
After arriving at the hotel, Laila said it was a ‘good holiday’ but that the whole experience was tarnished by her having to pay so much money.
A TUI UK & I spokesperson said: ‘We’re sorry to hear Ms March was unable to travel with TUI as planned due to the damage on her passport.
‘Customers are informed by email, and on our website, at the time of booking and prior to travel that UK Government’s passport requirements must be followed.
‘We strongly advise that customers check their passports are damage free as if there is any concern a passenger could be denied entry to their destination, they will be denied travel at the discretion of our check-in team.
‘Details of passport validity can be found on the government’s website.’
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