Dad forced to miss flight and pay £3,000 after making common passport mistake

A DAD was forced to pay £3,000 and drive 1,000 miles across Europe to join his family on holiday - after he fell victim to a passport rule catching many others out.

Peter Holt, 50, was turned away at the boarding gate for his flight to Croatia after being told his passport was out of date - despite it not expiring until next year.

Despite arriving for his flight with his wife Claire and sons Rocky, eight, and six-year-old-twins, Axel and Hunter, only he was not allowed to board.

Since 2021, UK passport holders travelling to any EU country will be denied entry ten years after their passport was issued - even if it still has extra months left.

Peter got his passport in July 2013 and was able to carry over unexpired months, giving the expiry of March 2024.

But post-Brexit rules - which he had no idea about - brought this forward to July 2023.

Peter explained his wife and children were “in tears” as he was turned away and ushered out of the airport, on August 6.

He said there were "two others" ushered out with him who were turned away for the "same issue" he had with his passport.

Peter, from Surrey, said: "I was annoyed. We had booked the holiday in February, and it said nothing about an issue with the passport then.

“I had my boarding pass, been through bag check, passport control, yet at the final stage I was turned away.

"It just didn’t - and still doesn’t - make sense."

Instead he drove 1,102 miles in his Mini Cooper from Gatwick through France, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia, before finally making it to Croatia.

He said: “I had looked in the Uber drive for passport assistant appointments, but the website was saying clearly that there were not any due to the strike action.

“That was when I came up with the idea to drive.

“I bought my ticket to pass through the Channel Tunnel and set off on my journey.

“The crazy thing is both the English and French border control teams at the crossing accepted my passport adding further mystery to the tale."

Peter drove around 500 miles on the first day of his journey stopping in Strasbourg, France at 10pm at a Hilton hotel.

He then drove the remaining 608 miles through Germany, Austria, and Slovenia in 12 hours to meet his family at their hotel in Pula at 8pm.

He ended up only missing two days of the trip and while he said the unexpected road trip was "beautiful," he's warning others not to make the same mistake.

The journey cost him an extra £3,000 pounds on top of their already expensive trip, due to the cost of the taxis to and from the airport (£60), the Channel Tunnel Ticker (£574), overnight hotel (£324) and nearly £2,000 in fuel costs.

He's warning others because despite the rule, he was able to book the flights, check in online, drop his bags and get his boarding pass before being alerted.

He said: ";I am glad to have made it, but the situation was just so unnecessary."

“I just wish someone, be it easyJet or the UK Passport Office, would have let me know.”

An easyJet spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: "Unfortunately Mr Holt was unable to fly to Pula due to their passport not meeting current validity rules.

"EasyJet follows the rules on passport validity as set out by the authorities where we operate.

"We remind customers during booking and before they travel to ensure they are aware of the requirements for the destination they are flying to and it is customers’ responsibility to ensure they have valid documentation for travel."

Earlier this year, teacher Rosie Simpson was banned from boarding her flight to Paris for a similar reason.

And Kirstie Hawes lost her £1,050 holiday to Majorca due to making the same mistake.