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This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
Jake Barton, 19, was excited about his first flight, his mother Rachel Barton told Business Insider.
Jake, Rachel and Jake’s father Chris boarded a Ryanair flight from England’s East Midlands Airport on December 28th, planning to fly to nearby Benidorm for an eight-day New Year’s holiday.
The family arrived at the airport, checked in for the flight, went through security, and finally arrived at the gate.
Rachel said she started feeling excited and nervous about her first flight.
Rachel said that when the flight began to board and the family arrived at the desk to scan their tickets and check their passports, a Ryanair employee told Jake that his passport was damaged. He was not allowed to board the plane.
A 19-year-old was unable to board a plane due to a small tear in his passport.
There was a tear near the passport binding on the first page of the passport, above the page that displayed Jake’s photo and information.
Jake’s passport was issued in October 2022, but his family said they did not notice the tear. They believe it happened when Jake used his passport as his primary identification after having his wallet and ID stolen recently.
BI could not find any information about the damaged passport on the airline’s website, but a Ryanair representative told BI that the top corner of the passport was also missing and that “this 19-year-old adult The passenger was rightly refused travel,” it said in a statement. On this flight from East Midlands to Alicante (December 28), he was intercepted by gate agents at East Midlands Airport because his passport was damaged and therefore invalid for travel. ”
However, the UK government says the damaged passports “are in such a state that they cannot be used as identification documents by customers”. This could include peeling laminate, peeling pages, “front, back, or pages of personal information have been cut out,” or damage such as rips, tears, or bite marks, the website says. is listed.
Jake Barton and his torn passport. Rachel Barton (via BI)
Meanwhile, Jake’s parents were still able to board the plane. Rachel said her son encouraged her to go on the eight-day trip without him.
“There was no way on this earth. I couldn’t do it,” she said. “You won’t be able to enjoy yourself.”
The family decided to look for other options. Rachel said a Ryanair employee told her that other airlines might accept the passport. The family went to a desk at another low-cost airline, where they were told the passport had only a small tear and was safe for travel.
“They said they would immediately accept my passport and try to put me on another flight,” she said. “Unfortunately, there were no other flights available.”
Defeated, the family headed home. They first had to exit the country through border control. Rachel said border agents there also thought the passport was fine.
“Her exact words were, ‘I’m really disappointed because I think this passport is fine,'” Rachel said.
“It’s frustrating when other people say, ‘This passport is fine,'” Rachel said.
Instead of spending New Year’s Eve in Spain, they decided to spend a quiet night at home in England.
Passengers line up at the Ryanair check-in desk. EyeswideOpen/Getty Images (via BI)
The family lost more than $1,500.
Rachel said her family lost a total of £1,234, or about US$1,560, on flights and transport to the airport.
This is not the first time a passenger has been denied boarding due to a damaged passport. In December, the couple were forced to cancel their honeymoon to Turkey after Turkish Airlines banned her husband from flying with a submerged passport, BI previously reported.
Ultimately, Rachel advises others to double check their passports before traveling and avoid using them as everyday identification.
“I didn’t think something like this could risk going because it’s that small,” she said.
The family said they will prepare a cover for their passports in preparation for their upcoming trip.
“We’ve got something new for him now, and it’s going to be locked away in a nice cupboard,” Rachel said.
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