A passenger was turned away from their Christmas flight at Gatwick airport, as airline staff got passport rules wrong again, it has been reported. Sue Heath, from Buckinghamshire, was due to fly from London Gatwick to Malta two days before Christmas, but claims she was forced to vacate her seat before the aircraft left the airport. The 64-year-old was due to sit in seat 23C and even though her UK passport is valid for travel to Malta and the rest of the European Union until late March, ground staff wrongly ordered Sue to depart the plane, reports The Independent.
The reason she was instructed to get off the plane was due to having an 'expired' passport, when it was actually still in date. “I was told my passport was not valid for the EU,” she told The Independent. “I had to accept their decision and sadly miss my Christmas in Malta. I felt very humble and embarrassed that I had messed up.” The British Airways ground staff at Gatwick may have been in the wrong in asking Sue to leave. A similar incident occured in 2024, when two separate passengers were turned away from their British Airways flight at Gatwick Airport.
Since Brexit, a UK passport must meet two conditions for travel to the European Union (EU) — firstly, passports must be no more than 10 years old on the day of entry to the EU, and secondly, there must be at least three months remaining on the passport from the intended day of departure from the EU.
Sue claims her passport met both of these conditions, however she said ground staff appeared confused about whether her passport was valid. The gate agent was concerned about Sue's passport not being acceptable and initially said that she could not board the flight, it was reported. The ground staff reportedly then tried to call her office but could not get an answer, so looked at Sue's passport again and allowed Sue to check back in and board the aircraft.
