Passport Office

Josh Reekie was due to fly to Phuket, Thailand, with wife Eden for their honeymoon but the electrician encountered an issue at Manchester Airport around his passport

A groom was “absolutely gutted” to be banned from boarding a flight to Thailand for his £2,000 honeymoon — due to a problem with his passport.

Staff at the Etihad Airways check-in desk inspected Josh Reekie’s passport and, reportedly after 30 minutes, he was told he would be unable to catch his flight due to damage on the document. The faint smudge, from on a 2019 travel stamp, was deemed water damage and sufficient for staff at Manchester Airport to deny Josh travel.

But Josh and Eden, whose passport was fine, had forked out £2,400 on flights and accommodation for their two-week TUI package holiday to celebrate tying the knot. Furious with the experience, Josh, 31, said today: “They said there was a stamp that had smudged slightly from Thailand 2019.

“Fair enough there’s a smudged stamp, but who’s to say that didn’t happen when they stamped it and closed the passport. I can’t think of a time where it’s come into contact with water, the picture page was perfectly fine.

“They said I couldn’t fly because it was damaged. We went and stood outside and just didn’t know what to do. It’s a very surreal feeling walking into an airport then walking out the departure lounge. We were stressed because of all the money we’d spent.”

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Josh, who is an industrial electrician, claims he has travelled with the same passport 12 times in the last year with no issue. Nevertheless, he frantically applied for a new document after leaving the airport to try and make the rest of their holiday.

But Josh, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, says holiday provider TUI cancelled the return flight and accommodation in Thailand after the couple were unable to board their outbound flight. Devastated, the couple forked out for a last-minute getaway to Cyprus, but claim Etihad Airways and TUI should now refund them.

Josh said: “We were really looking forward to it. I hadn’t long flown with that passport so I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. I travelled 12 times in 11 months with that passport and had no issues.

“We arrived at the Etihad Airways check-in and we got to the desk and he looked at both our passports and said they were both water-damaged.

“The duty manager started checking them and taking photos of them. Half an hour passed and I kept asking what was happening. No one told us anything about what was happening, she just turned around and said ‘I’m really sorry but you can’t fly’.”

The electrician, who was eventually able to get a new passport within two days, has complained to TUI and Etihad Airways and is demanding compensation. He added: “I felt really disappointed because there was no empathy or remorse from Etihad Airways.

“I know they probably see it daily but people save up all year to go on holiday. For someone on the check-in desk to just say ‘you’re not going’, I can’t understand how someone can have that authority to refuse you and not be able to get a second opinion.

“If it was the picture page, I could understand it, but the fact it was the stamp page just annoyed me. We were absolutely gutted, it was soul-destroying. I just hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else. We’d like our money back. We’ve had no help from TUI or Etihad.”

An Etihad spokesperson said: “A passenger flying from Manchester to Phuket on 7 October was denied boarding due to visible water damage in their passport at the time of check-in.

“Etihad consulted Thailand’s immigration authorities who advised the airline not to board the passenger based on the passport’s condition.

“Check-in staff therefore did not allow the passenger to board in compliance with regulatory guidance and destination entry requirements based on the condition of the passport at the time of travel.

“British passports must be machine-readable and fully intact, with no torn pages, water damage, delamination or illegible details, to comply with Thailand’s immigration policy.”

The Mirror has contacted TUI for comment.

The Passport Office has shared an update

HM Passport Office has issued a warning to those applying for new or replacement passports, as they may face delays. At the moment a standard adult passport for those aged 16 and over costs £94.50 when applied for online, or £107 when using the paper form.

To apply online and save some cash, you’ll need a digital photo. This can be obtained from a photo booth or shop prior to your passport application, or by taking one with your own device during the application process.

If you choose to use a photo booth, you can receive a code to input during your online application. However, the Passport Office has explained that certain guidelines must be adhered to if you want to get your passport as soon as possible.

In a recent alert on X, previously known as Twitter, HM Passport Office said: “A rejected photo can delay your application. Make sure your photo has a plain, light background. Shows your full face with a neutral expression and has no shadows, filters, or headwear.”

Additional advice on Gov.uk states that your photo must be clear and in focus, in colour, unaltered by computer software, at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, and between 50KB and 10MB in size. The photo should not include other objects or people, should not have ‘red eye’, should be taken against a plain and light-coloured background, and should clearly contrast with the background.

You should also only wear glasses if absolutely necessary. If you do need to wear glasses, ensure they’re not tinted or sunglasses and that your eyes aren’t obscured by the frames, glare, reflection, or shadow.

Should your photo and application be acceptable, you can expect to receive your new or replacement passport within three weeks.

Meghan Law, who is an NHS nurse, has expressed her anger after her teenage son Alix Dawson was not allowed to board the Qatar Airways plane for Phuket, Thailand

A mum has blasted Qatar Airways after her 13-year-old son was denied boarding their flight for Thailand.

Meghan Law said there was “no justification” for her experience at Edinburgh Airport, which threatened to derail her £3,000 family holiday. Check-in staff, though, told Meghan there was a “luggage sticker mark” on Alix Dawson’s passport, which they said constituted “damage”.

The mum was ordered to go to Glasgow Airport — around 50 miles away — for a new emergency document. Scrambling to salvage her family’s holiday, Meghan contacted TUI, who she had booked the trip with, for their advice. The tour operator found no issues with the passport and put them on the next available flight to Thailand.

But Meghan, 33, has now vowed to never use Qatar Airways again. The NHS nurse, who has two kids, said: “If I hadn’t booked through TUI and booked it myself, we just wouldn’t have been able to go on holiday. One way from Glasgow on the same day of travel would’ve been £2,800. There’s no way I would’ve been able to pay that.

“I’d never had an experience like that at any other airport. There was no justification for it. I’ll never fly with Qatar again. It ruined the start of the trip – it was so stressful.”

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Meghan, who lives in Aberdeen, has now returned from her two-week holiday, but wants to raise awareness of her experience. HM Passport Office classes a passport as damaged for several reasons, including if details are indecipherable, if there are missing or detached pages and if there is a chemical or ink spillage on any page.

But Meghan said Alix’s document had neither of these issues, and had previously been accepted dozens of times at airports. She continued: “I said I’ve used this umpteen times. No one’s ever mentioned any damage on it before. There were no rips or stains, I don’t know what she was trying to imply. I was really shocked.

“She told me that I need to get an emergency passport from Glasgow Airport. Then she said actually it’s not your passport that’s the problem, it’s your child’s, Alix.

“What they were trying to say was that the luggage check-in stickers that had been stuck on one of the pages [and] had damaged the page. But it wasn’t even on the photo page.

“There were no rips, it was just where the sticker marks had been. They said we couldn’t travel with it. I knew there were no issues with their passports. We’d probably travelled over a dozen times with those passports. We were just left in the airport with no help and no advice.”

The Mirror has contacted Qatar Airways for comment.