Gutted mum barred from TUI flight – and forced to pay £634 to get to Spain

A mum who was barred from her flight was forced to stump up over £634 to save her holiday to Spain from being ruined.

Shirelle Quinn said she was left “gutted” after she arrived at Newcastle Airport with her son Freddy and was told by TUI that they couldn’t fly to Alicante due to a rule caused by Brexit.

The mum and son stood devastated after Shirelle’s passport failed to meet a requirement which needs passports to be issued within the previous 10 years upon the date of arrival into the EU.

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The condition also asks for holidaymakers to have a valid passport for at least three months from the return date of travel from the EU, reports Manchester Evening News.

Because Shirelle’s passport was issued on August 9 2012, she was turned away as TUI staff could not guarantee she would be permitted entry into Spain when she arrived.

Shirelle said she had used a third-party online passport checker which said that her passport was valid for travel, but it turned out this was not the case.

This rule meant that the holiday she had forked out £2k for had been lost – or so she thought when leaving the airport.

“I was just gutted for my little boy. He was in tears, but I was quite calm,” she said.

“It wasn’t the staff’s fault, it was my own. They couldn’t let me fly because I might have been refused entry when I arrived in Spain.”

However, the quick thinking mum, who works as a buyer for Purely Drink in Sunderland, jumped straight in her car and headed for the passport office in Durham.

Within hours, she was issued a passport and had rebooked flights for the next morning with Ryanair – though it has meant she’s had to pay another £457 for flights and £177 for a new passport.

“The passport office couldn’t have been more helpful, they did it there and then,” she added.

“I’m delighted, while I was waiting I went up to the centre of Durham and bought the lady in the passport office a big bouquet of flowers, she was absolutely lovely. I did a little skip out of the passport office and they were all looking at me!”

Shirelle and Freddy have since touched down in Spain and are enjoying their well-deserved break.

A statement from TUI read: “We understand Ms Quinn’s disappointment in being unable to travel on her holiday as planned.

“We must always follow the FCDO’s passport validity guidance which clearly states passengers’ passports must not be more than 10 years old on the date they enter their destination. Unfortunately, Ms Quinn’s passport did not meet this requirement and we therefore could not allow her to board the flight.

“We always do our best to support customers and this passport guidance is available on the TUI website during the booking process. It’s the customer’s responsibility to ensure that their travel documents are valid for the destinations they are travelling to, as clearly stated in the booking process.

“As Ms Quinn has booked a new flight with another airline, we advise her to reach out to her travel insurance provider to see if they are able to support with compensation or refunds for any services lost.”

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