Airports wrong to turn away holidaymakers, EU says

The Gurd family missed out on their holiday in the Algarve due to a little-known rule

UK holidaymakers should not be turned away from flights over a post-Brexit rule for entry to some countries, the European Commission has said.

The problem has affected people with renewed passports that have an extended expiry date beyond the usual 10 years.

Nina Gurd was told by Ryanair that her passport, which expires in February, was not valid for travel to Portugal.

Despite having more than three months left before the expiry date, she said was told that was irrelevant.

"The lady at Bournemouth Airport said it needs to be within 10 years of the issue date," she said.

And Cheryl and Stuart Miller, from Blandford in Dorset, told the BBC they were turned away by Ryanair at the airport over the weekend for the same reason.

Mrs Miller said she was told by a woman on the check-in desk: "If we let you travel and you're not allowed in, I could lose my job."

She added: "That was the end of it, we were escorted back out in tears, we were just devastated."

Cheryl and Stewart Miller, and their children Sophia and Austin, were also forced to miss their holiday

Portugal is one of 26 European countries within the Schengen Area of free movement.

Prior to Brexit, travellers from the UK could travel within the area without border controls, as the country was a member of the European Union, although Britain was not part of the Schengen Agreement.

Now some EU countries in the Schengen Area are insisting passports must be no more than 10 years old from the point of issue.

Once the three-month expiry buffer is taken into account, a passport needs to have been issued no more than nine years and nine months ago.

However, the EU's executive arm has now said a "more generous interpretation of the rules is possible".

It said in a statement: "Our previous advice was intended to make sure travellers are prepared to comply with the most stringent possible interpretation of the Schengen rules."

Requiring travellers to have passports less than 10 years old throughout their stay provided a guarantee the documents would not be refused at entry, it said.

But "based on the experience gathered in implementing these rules" and in discussion with member states, it was "now clear that a more generous interpretation of the rules is possible and we have therefore updated our advice".

'Very badly handled'

Entry should be allowed to those travelling with passports issued within the previous 10 years at the moment of entry into the Schengen Area, it added.

James Whyte told the BBC he was also initially not allowed to board a flight with his family to Portugal earlier this month, even though his passport was issued less than 10 years ago and is valid until 2023.

He said he was eventually able to board the EasyJet flight when he tried a different queue at Gatwick Airport.

The barrister, from London, said: "There is a huge amount of confusion in media reports, airlines' positions and even Foreign Office advice, and the situation is being very badly handled."

He said he believes airlines are incorrectly refusing boarding under the Schengen Agreement.

"There are two separate and distinct criteria regarding passport dates, whereas they are seeking to impose some sort of hybrid criterion that is not present in EU law," he explained.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: "Ryanair complies with all European Commission travel regulations and passengers travelling between the EU and the UK after the end of the transition period must have a passport that is not valid for more than 10 years."

The BBC has contacted Bournemouth Airport for comment.