Schoolboy refused boarding on flight over frequent passport mistake

A schoolboy was turned away from a Qatar Airways flight over a ‘luggage sticker mark’ on his passport – and his mother says the ‘stressful’ experience almost cost them their £3,000 holiday to Thailand.  

Meghan Law, 33, from Aberdeen, was due to fly to Phuket for a two-week break with her two children in the beginning of October. 

But as the family were about to board their plane from Edinburgh Airport, the mother was informed by Qatar Airways check-in staff that they had spotted an issue with her son’s passport and that he would not be permitted to fly.  

According to Meghan, staff claimed 13-year-old Alix’s passport was ‘damaged’ due to a ‘luggage sticker mark’ they had found on one page. 

She said: ‘We got to the airport and were checking in my bags when the [check-in staff member] looked at my passport then just walked away from the desk. She didn’t say anything.

‘We were standing there for 20 minutes before I asked what’s going on. She came back and said that my passport was damaged.’

Meghan added: ‘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.’

Meghan Law, 33, from Aberdeen, was informed by Qatar Airways check-in staff that they had spotted an issue with her son’s passport and that he would not be permitted to fly at Edinburgh Airport in October 

According to Meghan, staff claimed 13-year-old Alix’s passport was ‘damaged’ due to a ‘luggage sticker mark’ they had found on one page

She was told her son would not be able to fly from Edinburgh, and was instead advised to travel to Glasgow Airport for a new emergency document. 

Though Meghan challenged the decision, claiming the family had travelled plenty of times with the same passport, check-in staff stood firm.

The mother recalled: ‘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.

‘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.’

Panicked, the NHS nurse contacted TUI, who she had booked the £3,000 holiday with, for their advice, and sent photo evidence of the ‘damaged’ document. 

The tour operator found no issues with the passport and the family were able to board the next Emirates flight from Glasgow to Thailand.

Meghan 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. We had no issue with Emirates, no one mentioned anything.’

Though the family continued their holiday with no further obstacles, Meghan maintains she will ‘never fly with Qatar again’

Though the family continued their holiday with no further obstacles, Meghan maintains she will ‘never fly with Qatar again’.

Not only did the ‘stressful’ experience ‘ruin the start of the trip’, the mother believes her son was was denied boarding due to the airline ‘overbooking the flight’ and staff were allegedly searching for issues with the passport. 

‘I think Qatar Airways had actually overbooked the flight. It was quite obvious standing in the airport that the flight was overbooked, given there were people standing about and not checking in.’ 

Meghan is now seeking compensation from Qatar, adding: ‘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. 

‘I think compensation is justified. It’s really put my anxieties up for flying in the future. They just weren’t kind or compassionate whatsoever.

‘I was a single parent with two children, which really added to the stress. I don’t think this was anything to do with the passport, considering every other airline had no issue with it.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Qatar Airways for comment.