A FAMILY were forced to pay out an extra £5,000 after their holiday was ruined because of a tiny passport mistake.
As well as making sure it’s in-date there are several other passport rules that need to be followed that people might not know about.
MEN MediaA rip in Bethany’s passport meant that she wasn’t able to fly to Thailand[/caption]
Suzanne Senior, her husband Steven, their daughter Bethany and her boyfriend found that out the hard way, as they arrived at the airport for a big trip to Thailand.
They were all due to jet out to the South East Asian holiday hotspot on Friday (August 4) and paid £7,000 for the trip.
However, when they arrived to check in for their flights, they were stopped by a member of staff from Qatar Airways, who told them there was an issue with Bethany’s passport.
The eagle-eyed check-in attendant spotted a small rip on the 24-year-old’s photo ID page, which they said meant she couldn’t fly.
Not wanting to go on holiday without their daughter, parents Suzanne and Steven also decided not to board the flight, however her boyfriend opted to take the trip on his own.
The rest of the family were still desperate for a getaway, so paid out an extra £5,000 for a trip to Turkey, which they were all able to go on without any problem.
Suzanne said that the family were devastated by what happened, arguing that there was nothing wrong with Bethany’s passport.
She said she was hoping to claim back the money she had lost on the holiday on her insurance.
She told the Manchester Evening News: “We’re absolutely devastated. We had plans to go and see the elephants, the islands, everything. We’d looked forward to that holiday for 12 months.
“We couldn’t even see [the rip]. Loads of people said there was nothing wrong with it. It’s a tiny millimetre tear. We don’t know why it was turned away.”
Suzanne said she was fortunate to be in a position to book another holiday to make up for the one they’d lost, saying not everyone would be able to do that.
She added: “I’m fortunate that I could go to that desk in Manchester Airport and book another holiday. Not everyone is in that position, they’d have to go home.”
Qatar Airways told MEN that it is the passengers’ responsibility to have the correct documentation for their trip.
They also refused to reimburse the family.
Sun Online Travel has contacted Qatar Airways for comment.
Bethany isn’t the only person to have had her holiday ruined by a passport mistake they didn’t know about.
Amy Grundy was also supposed to be travelling from Manchester to Thailand but wasn’t allowed to fly after a small rip was spotted in her passport.
In a video on Tiktok, Amy said: “Yeah, don’t travel with a ripped passport guys.
“Check your passport for any damage because you will get denied to fly, especially going to Asia.”
Meanwhile, this man was able to get a new passport in 12 hours after an airline banned him from his flight.
And people travelling with hand luggage always make this passport mistake.
Bethany was stopped from boarding her flight by airline staffMEN Media Read More