A WOMAN was left £900 out of pocket and missed her own 50th birthday abroad because of a passport mistake STILL being made by thousands.
Ali Burridge, from Suffolk, was due to fly to Benidorm with 15 of her friends during the May bank holiday weekend for celebrate her big birthday.
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Ali Burridge (right) was forced to miss her holiday abroad because of her passport Credit: SWNS
She was due to fly to Benidorm with her friends for her 50th birthday Credit: SWNS
Having spent £900 on flights and accommodation, she ran into problems after arriving at the airport
Staff behind the counter at London Stansted gave her the “heartbreaking” news that she couldn’t board the plane due to a passport rule she had “no idea about”.
The rules, which have been in place since the UK left the EU, no longer allows passports to be older than 10 years – unlike previous rules which let you roll up to nine months over.
Thousands of Brits have been caught out by the confusing rule, which is when your expiry date is actually incorrect.
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This also caught Ali out, who bought her passport before the new rules and meant she didn’t realise the extra time on her passport was no longer valid.
She said: “It was awful when I was told the news, to be honest, I’m still in shock.
“I had been looking forward to this since my 40th birthday – we had spent the previous year organising it all. In reality, the rule has cost me money and memories.”
Her sister Tracey said the girls were “in tears” after they landed and heard the news, with them travelling out on an earlier flight.
Instead her friends called her from their holiday while she was stuck at home Credit: SWNS
Ali also said that no issues were raised on the website when she checked in two weeks before, despite it asking for her expiry date.
She continued: “If it had flagged the issues, I would have been able to get a new one, which is annoying.”
Despite driving to Peterborough with an attempt to get a new one at the Passport Office, she was unable to in time for her trip.
Instead, she was forced to stay home whilst some of her friends that had already made it out there enjoyed the sun – who managed to FaceTime her while out there.
She added: “I still know and see a lot of people travelling on the old passport, so I want to raise awareness so this doesn’t happen to others.
“You could be easily caught out like me if you don’t travel often. I’m seeing this situation as a valuable life lesson.”
