My 11-year-old son was left in tears after Ryanair WRONGLY said his passport was invalid – and banned us from boarding
AN 11-year-old boy was in tears when Ryanair refused to let him board a flight to Tenerife.
The budget airline claimed the youngster's passport had expired, despite it having another four months of validity.
Under new rules since Brexit, a passport must have at least three months' validity remaining and be less than 10 years old.
Ryley McGuckin's passport was issued in March 2017 and has an expiry date of September 2022.
This would mean that Ryley can use his passport for travel to EU countries until June 31, 2022.
Despite this, the family were told by Ryanair staff at Glasgow Prestwick Airport said that Ryley would not be allowed to board the flight to Tenerife.
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The 11-year-old cried and apologised to his seven-year-old brother Barry.
Mum Natasha told how they arrived at the airport two hours ahead of the 6am departure, but were told by staff that a phone call had to be made to the Ryanair Immigration team after inspecting Ryley's passport.
Natasha said: "After they got off the phone they said we weren't able to fly because his passport was invalid and that it was against the law.
"We were absolutely devastated. Both of my sons were crying... Ryley was devastated because he thought it was all his fault we couldn't go on holiday and he was apologising to his wee brother."
The family did eventually get to enjoy their first family holiday since the Covid-19 pandemic.
They shelled out £600 for new flights from Edinburgh Airport to Tenerife with airline Jet2, who accepted Ryley's passport.
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A spokesperson for Ryanair has confirmed that the family have been offered a full refund for the flights.
They said: "In light of this clear error on our part, we have written to the family and given them a full refund of £313.79 cost of their unused flights and as a gesture of goodwill we have also given them a travel voucher for another £315 which we hope they will use to book more Ryanair flights for the family in the very near future.
"We apologise sincerely for the error we made in this case and we have updated our briefing notes to all our airport handling agents to ensure this error does not recur."
Martin Lewis has issued a warning to holidaymakers planning on travelling abroad this summer.
The founder has warned that tourists could be caught out if they don't check the expiry dates on passports and GHIC / EHIC health cards.
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If your passport is all in order, it's also important to check your GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card) or EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), which gives you access to healthcare across the EU for the same prices as a local.
The GHIC has replaced the old-style European Health Insurance Cards, although your EHIC will stay valid if it is within its expiry date.
