Passport warning as easy mistake could get you banned from your flight

A MUM has warned families going abroad this year after her holiday was nearly ruined due to a mistake with her passport.

Mum Fifi Box, a radio presenter in Australia, explained how she was nearly stopped from her flight.

The 45-year-old was travelling from Melbourne to Fiji when she was stopped by airport staff.

Staff were concerned because her 3-year-old daughter Daisy's passport was damp, with some water damage.

She explained on her that they told her they may not be able to board the flight as "Fiji border officials may not accept the passports".

Fifi said: "It was 5am in the morning and I started to get teary."

Eventually they were let on their flight - but said there was a risk they would be sent back on arrival

Thankfully they made it to Fiji, but Fifi has since warned other people to check their passports before travelling.

She was also told she would have been banned if she was flying to Bali, which has very strict rules.

A number of travellers have found this out the hard way - Aussie Bronte was stopped from her flight to Bali because she was told her photo ID page had some mould on it.

In 2019, Australian football player Sam Kerr was prevented from boarding her Jetstar flight after the airline deemed her passport was too damaged to fly with - despite having minimal wear and tear.

Also that year, a man with a nine-year-old passport described as “slightly damaged” was stopped from boarding a Batik Air flight from Perth on Christmas Day.

And a couple lost £7,500 after their dream holiday was "ruined" because their passport was deemed too damaged for travel.

Richard and Ann Lane, from Lincolnshire, were forced to miss three weeks of their three-month holiday as they were prevented from entering Bali and Malaysia due to a small hole in one of their passports.

It isn't the only way you could be banned from your flight this year, with some Brits not realising there are new passport rules when heading to Europe.

Brits must have at least three months left on their passport to enter countries in Europe.

The start date - or 'date of issue' - is the next thing to be checked on your passport to avoid any last-minute chaos.

This is because new rules no longer allow Brits to have passports that have more than 10 years left on them.

One woman lost out on her £2,600 dream holiday due to confusion over her passport's expiry dates.

If you need to renew your passport, it can be done online, costing £75.50, or via a paper application form available at the Post Office for £85.