‘British Airways’ passport blunder ruined my dream vacation however they nonetheless will not pay up’

A woman whose dream holiday was “ruined” by a British Airways blunder says the stress of recouping the cost is making her ill.

Kathleen Matheson, 62 was about to board her plane to Orlando, Florida with her husband, Allan 56 on September, 20 when she was refused by ground staff at the airport gate in Gatwick.

They claimed that Kathleen’s passport, which was due to expire in November 2024, was not valid for travel to America – even though the US requires no minimim validity for Brit passport holders.

They even refused to accept the word of their own customer service staff when Kathleen called the British Airways helpline for clarification.

It left the NHS receptionist in a desperate scramble to make alternative travel arrangements to salvage their long-awaited break.

A mad-dash to London for a new emergency passport and several nights in UK hotels waiting for another flight left the couple from Skye feeling “devastated and exhausted.”

Three days later, British Airways blamed “human error” by a member of staff but by then, Kathleen and Allan’s expenses were mounting up and they lost days of their holiday, which was thrown into disarray.

Speaking to The Independent at the time, Kathleen said: “We went to bag drop where the agent asked if I realised my passport expired soon?

“I replied I was aware and showed him the screenshot from the UK government website on passport validity for the US.

“He then sent for a manager. They both stated that I would not be allowed to board as my passport didn’t have ‘the required six months left’.

“I said that did not apply to US, but they refused to accept this.”

The Foreign Office travel advice for the US makes clear a British passport must simply be valid for the length of the planned stay. In principle a UK citizen could arrive on the day before their passport expired, be legally admitted and then fly back to arrive in the UK on the expiry date.

But while the British Airways customer service line confirmed the rules, they said the decision of the ground staff was final.

Devastated, Kathleen managed to get an appointment at the passport office in London the next morning and they checked into a hotel in the meantime.

The replacement passport was issued and Kathleen managed to get a fresh Esta before booking them onto another flight with Virgin after having to fork out for another night in a hotel.

So far, they’ve spent over £10k on the trip which was originally to spend one night in Orlando’s International Drive followed by five nights in Naples, six nights at Disney World and ending with three nights back on International Drive.

But they had to cancel the Naples trip as it was an Airbnb with a five night minimum stay and they’d already lost two days by the time they landed in the US.

Kathleen said: “I am devastated and exhausted with what has happened, and very much out of pocket.

“This honestly has been so stressful.”

Shortly after Kathleen’s ordeal was first published in September, BA admitted it was “human error.”

But she later received a lengthy letter from the airline’s lawyer, which left her feeling “angry and insulted.”

It said: “In the absence of a response from the airport team, I cannot…make a definitive conclusion as to whether you were correctly or incorrectly denied boarding.

“However, assuming that your ESTA was valid and correctly linked to your passport, and that a clear to board message was received when your passport was scanned, it appears to me that you should have been permitted to travel.

“Unfortunately however, I have not been able to definitively conclude my investigation in this regard but on this occasion, I will offer you compensation on the basis that you were incorrectly denied boarding.”

The letter went on to offer Kathleen just £520 in compensation.

Outraged Kathleen told the Daily Star: “I’m just so angry with them. BA have shown themselves to be totally uncaring.

“The cost of the original holiday and all the costs involved with new flights, accomodation, passport and extra days in London is just short of £10,000.”

Kathleen said she is not prepared to accept BA’s compensation offer and is going to fight to get what she’s owed.

But as the weeks go by, the stress is mounting and Kathleen admitted it’s making her ill. She was infuriated to receive a letter earlier this week asking her to justify her expenses.

“I just feel they are hoping I give up by dragging it out. Their behaviour is shocking, they absolutely do not care about their customers.

“I have emailed them back telling them I want a formal report of the findings from Gatwick staff re denied boarding. I am also going to contact the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) to see what they have to say.

“If they can get away with this behaviour with me when they were in the wrong they will carry on doing it.”

She added: “It was stressful during the holiday and even now I’m still battling with them to get my money refunded. It’s been an absolute nightmare.”

BA has been asked to comment.

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