A simple passport error forced a woman to cancel an £8,000 family holiday.
Emily Allen, planning a family holiday to Corfu, found herself in an unpleasant situation that left her unable to travel. Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport, she encountered difficulty checking in when her passport went into the check-in machine the wrong way around. An attempt to turn the passport over resulted in the photograph inside the document being torn.
Airline staff advised her to buy duct tape from the airport store to stick the photo on and fix her passport. However, she was later informed that this would not be enough and she would not be allowed on board. The Greek authorities could have refused her entry due to her damaged passport.
With no alternative solution available, Emily and her family were forced to cancel their holiday and return home, losing money on airfare and hotel costs and not receiving their travel insurance payout. Of the amount they paid for the vacation, they managed to save only half.
Such cases have become common, and many passengers are experiencing difficulties due to damaged passports.
According to The Post Office, a passport is considered damaged if certain criteria are met, such as illegible parts, a damaged chip and other factors:
- details are illegible;
- the laminate is raised so that the photograph can be replaced;
- there is discoloration of the biodata page;
- chemical or ink spills detected on any page;
- there are missing or torn pages;
- chip or antenna visible through back cover flyleaf for new ePassports;
- The chip was identified as damaged after testing.