A man was stopped from boarding a plane at the gate at Manchester Airport over a ‘slight rip’ in his passport – despite successfully using it to check in and buy currency and duty free.
Abriella Monroe, 32, said a birthday holiday to Tenerife with her husband Sebastien, who has just turned 36, has been ruined. Glue appears to have worked loose on a page of his passport, resulting in a small tear along its spine.
Ryanair, in response, said he was ‘correctly refused travel’, but Abriella and Sebastien said they believe the passport should have been accepted.
The angry couple, from Wythenshawe, told how they had to watch the Ryanair flight they should have been on fly away as a result. They had to go back through passport control to leave the airport and claim Border Force officers there told them Sebastien’s passport was fine to travel with.
Mother-of-three Abriella is paraplegic and husband Sebastien is also her carer. The passport is fully in date and his details and image can be clearly seen.
Abriella at the airport
(Image: UGC/FAMILY/MEN)
The couple were jetting away for a two-week break to celebrate Sebastien’s birthday, but now face a trip to HM Passport Office in Liverpool instead as they attempt to salvage the holiday.
Abriella said they also had to wait for an hour to get their checked-in luggage and her wheelchair back, which were taken off the plane. The Ryanair flight – FR1249 – departed at 5.50am on Wednesday (January 8) and the couple got to the airport two hours in advance.
Abriella said: “It was supposed to be a birthday present and we just can’t believe it. We got to the airport at about 3.45am by taxi and all was fine. We checked in at special assistance check-in. We showed our boarding passes and our passports and there was no problem.
Sebastien’s passport
(Image: UGC/FAMILY/MEN)
“We checked in our luggage and my wheelchair and once again our passes and passports were checked. My husband also used his passport to exchange some money at Travelex at the airport and we got some duty free. His passport was accepted and there was no issue.
“We went through security and there was no issue and we were waiting for the gate to be called. We both go to the boarding gate and I show my boarding pass and passport first, and that was fine.
“Then my husband showed the Ryanair staff his. The man took a two second look at it and said ‘you can’t travel on that’. He said there was a slight rip in it and couldn’t accept it.
“We tried to reason with him and asked to speak to someone higher up, but it was no use. The flight was on time and we watched it leave.
Glue appears to have worked loose on a page, causing a small tear along its spine
(Image: UGC/FAMILY/MEN)
“We had to wait around then went through Border Force to exit the airport. They said there was absolutely no problem with the passport. The man tried to be really polite about the situation. He said the passport was valid and we were allowed through Border Force.
“The wheelchair and suitcase were taken off the plane and we had to wait at a carousel to collect them. We will definitely be complaining to Ryanair as soon as we get home. The passport is just slightly torn. We can fully see his details, passport number and his photograph. At this point now we are not sure what we are going to do. We are going to have to go to Liverpool to get him another passport.”
Government guidelines state HM Passport Office consider a passport to be damaged if details cannot be read; 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 like ink or water damage.
Abriella said they last went on holiday aboard using there passports six years ago.
She added: “There was no issue then and his passport has been kept in a folder I use to keep documents safe, like my children’s birth certificates and my medical notes. Nothing has ever happened to any of the other documents, not a tear or anything. I keep all important things very safe.”
Ryanair, in response, said the passport was ripped on the identification page at the seam and across the page.
A spokesperson said: “The UK Passport Office defines what constitutes as a damaged passport, not Ryanair. This passenger was correctly refused travel from Manchester to Tenerife (8 January) as his passport was damaged and therefore not valid for travel.”