Exclusive: Sue Heath was taken off the plane to Malta and wrongly told she had ‘messed up’. Sunny skies and a Mediterranean breeze: that was what awaited holidaymakers aboard British Airways flight 2616 from London Gatwick to Malta two days before Christmas.
![[Welcome sight: Valletta Harbour in Malta, in December]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/06/30/07/Malta14.JPG)
Among them was Sue Heath, 64, from Buckinghamshire. But just before the Airbus pushed back from the gate, she was ordered to leave seat 23C on the aircraft. Even though her UK passport is valid for travel to Malta and the rest of the European Union until late March, ground staff wrongly offloaded Ms Heath – and then blamed her for having an “expired” passport, when the document was perfectly valid.
“I was told my passport was not valid for the EU,” said Ms Heath, who has spent much of her working life in travel. “I had to accept their decision and sadly miss my Christmas in Malta. I felt very humble and embarrassed that I had messed up.”. In fact, British Airways ground staff at Gatwick had once again messed up by denying boarding to a properly documented passenger.
On a single day earlier this year, BA turned away two separate passengers from the Sussex airport because ground staff did not understand the rules for their destinations. Since Brexit, a UK passport must meet two conditions for travel to the European Union:.
Ms Heath’s passport comfortably met both of these requirements. But ground staff appeared confused about whether her passport was valid. “The gate agent was concerned about my passport not being acceptable, and initially said I could not board the flight,” Ms Heath said. “She tried to call her office but could not get an answer. She then looked again and said it was OK and checked me back in and boarded me again.
