A British holidaymaker was forced to pay £1,200 for a same-day British Airways flight to Cancun after she was prohibited from boarding her original Tui plane because staff spotted a “slight mark” on her passport.
Staff feared that the stain would prove a problem at Mexican border control and Laila March, 25, was turned away, despite having boarded a flight back from Morocco the day prior.
March, a private tutor from Croydon, thought she had secured a “cheap deal” when she secured tickets for herself and her sister Kaemarnie, 21, to fly to the tropical destination for less than £1,000 each.
When the pair, who were celebrating Kaemarine’s 21st birthday, arrived at Gatwick Airport on June 7, March was told she could not board the plane because her passport was damaged.
The 25-year-old, stumped and unsure what to do next, decided to try her luck with British Airways (BA) and was shocked to learn they had “no issue” with her passport and would happily let her fly.
Not wanting her sister to travel alone, Laila purchased a last-minute ticket for £1,200 and had no problem clearing customs after arriving in Mexico only a few hours later than expected.
However, having to shell out an extra £1,200 put a dent in Laila’s savings which she planned on using in September, when she starts her postgraduate degree in education at the University of Cambridge.
She complained in the hope of getting refunded for the pricey ticket and after initially being told Tui had closed her case, more than two weeks later the company has now agreed to reimburse her.
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March snapped up the Tui deal for less than £1,000 per person
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“I think it’s just insane that Tui can say my passport is damaged and not allow me to board for fear I’m not going to be allowed into Mexico by passport control, and then for another airline to have no issue with the same passport, let me fly to Mexico and then I get through passport control,” Laila told PA Real Life.
“I’m studying to become a teacher, I start in September, and that money was money that I had saved up towards getting myself set up for university.”
According to the UK Passport Office’s website, a passport is considered damaged if “you cannot read any of your details, any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing, there are holes, cuts or rips in the cover, the cover is coming away or there are stains on the pages, for example ink or water damage”.
“It was a very small mark, almost like a little scratch on the right hand side of the page but you would have to look very carefully to see it – I hadn’t even noticed until they pointed it out,” said Laila.
The sisters were travelling to Cancun, Mexico for a celebration after the youngest’s graduation
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The holiday, which March booked to celebrate her sister graduating from the University of Keele with a law degree, would be their first trip abroad just the two of them.
Arriving at Gatwick Airport with hours to spare, they hoped to collect their tickets and relax before their flight.
The 25-year-old said the check-in assistant scanned their passports and was about to hand over their boarding passes when she spotted a small stain in the top right of her picture page.
“She was like, ‘What’s happened to your passport? What’s this mark on it?’,” Laila said.
“Apparently there was a slight mark on the photo page, but it wasn’t over any of the details and you could still read everything.
“She called someone who took my passport and disappeared for half an hour, even though I explained, I flew into this airport yesterday and have travelled many times in the past year.”
Waiting for 45 minutes, she was eventually told she could not board the plane due to the stain. She was then given three options – apply for an emergency passport and travel a few days later, to change the name on her booking so someone else could travel in her place, or to see if another airline would accept her passport.
She was told by Tui that British Airways was flying out this afternoon, so quickly headed to the South Terminal to plead her case.
She was instead able to board a British Airways flight with no issues
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The BA desk examined her passport and confirmed she could purchase a fresh ticket for £1,200 and fly out that very afternoon.
“They were able to scan my passport and print out my boarding pass, just like the lady at Tui,” said Laila.
“There was absolutely no issue, I just had to pay an extra £1,200.”
Arriving in Mexico with no problems, March said that whilst she had a “good holiday”, the whole experience was tarnished by her having to fork out so much money.
After complaining, she was initially told that her case had been closed following an investigation. Thankfully, on June 21, she received an email saying the company would refunding the cost of the BA ticket within two weeks.
A Tui UK & Ireland spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear Ms March was unable to travel with Tui as planned due to the damage on her passport.
“Customers are informed by email, and on our website, at the time of booking and prior to travel that UK Government’s passport requirements must be followed.
“We strongly advise that customers check their passports are damage free as if there is any concern a passenger could be denied entry to their destination, they will be denied travel at the discretion of our check-in team.”