Woman banned from Ryanair flight and left £700 out of pocket because of ‘petty’ passport reason

A BRIT has been left devastated after she was refused boarding her flight to Spain due to a simple mistake.

Rachael Norton-Voysey, 33, was stopped before boarding her Ryanair flight from Birmingham to Lanzarote.

The Brummie-based woman had a 1.5cm rip in her passport, though she claimed it did not impact any of the details in her passport or her photo page.

Rachael said: “We got to the gate and handed in my passport at that point to get onto the plane and he said it was ripped and they wouldn’t let us through.

“It was horrible – that feeling where your stomach just drops knowing we wouldn’t be going on holiday at that point.

“There’s no arguing with them once they do that.”

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Rachael and her friend were due to spend five days in Lanzarote, having spent £700 on the holiday but instead they both ended up heading home.

The duo were made to wait though, until the entire plane had boarded before they were escorted out of the airport.

Rachael added how she had travelled several times on the passport without an issue before.

She added: “I understand where they’re coming from but it is really petty in my opinion.”

She noted that when they went back through the airport, even the immigration officer mentioned it was harsh.

The UK Government’s website states: “If your passport is damaged you must replace it. You may not be able to travel with it.

“HM Passport Office will consider your passport damaged if: there are stains on the pages (for example, ink or water damage); 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 or the cover is coming away.”

“You may not be able to travel with it.”

Rachael is now hoping that her experience will warn other Brits to check their passports before travelling, and also calling out Ryanair to be clearer on the rules around damaged passports.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “This passenger was correctly refused travel from Birmingham to Lanzarote as her passport was damaged and therefore not valid for travel.”