Our family holiday to Corfu was ruined after easyJet refused to let us on their flight – my children were in tears

A mother said a family holiday to Corfu was ruined after easyJet staff refused to let her board their flight.

Nicci Lou, 43, and her two children were heartbroken after being escorted from Gatwick airport, despite their papers still being up to date.

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Nicci Lou and her children were hoping to fly to Corfu for their first holiday since the pandemic[/caption]

The family had hoped to fly to the Greek island, their first holiday since the Covid pandemic, to celebrate Nicci’s divorce.

But her plans fell through when gate staff told her she could not fly because Nicci’s passport was too close to expiring, even though it was still valid.

Under post-Brexit rules, countries require passports to be valid for at least three – or sometimes six – months after your travel dates.

The mother and her two children were in tears after being turned away and told to go to the information desk for help.

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However, when she got there, two security guards escorted her out of the building.

Nicci told The Mirror: “I made a mistake and didn’t know about the three months from the date you get the period back. The problem I have is that I got as far as the gates, almost as far as the plane, before they said no.

“Then they told us to go to the information desk. They tried to get rid of me and my crying children. The information desk said they had nothing to do with the flight and there was no supervisor.

“They escorted us out of the airport, one in front, one in back.

“I had to go through passport control while my children were crying. Then we were left outside the airport gates.

“I shouldn’t have made it to the doors of the plane to be smuggled out like an illegal immigrant.”

Nicci said she scanned her passport five days in advance and that everything was fine until they approached the boarding counter and were told they were not allowed to board the plane.

Although she is upset that she made the mistake with her passport, she was stunned that easyJet did not give her timely warning of the problem.

“All the airline wants to tell me is if their technology as a digital airline doesn’t allow their app to verify passport details, will they add a pop-up window?” she asked.

“Something that allows people to know that the boarding pass doesn’t mean they have access to the plane.

“Something that preferably meets the ‘average’ passport requirements. So other people, other little kids don’t go through that.”

An easyJet spokesman said: “easyJet follows current government regulations on passport validity as set out by the governments in which we operate.

“Unfortunately, as her passport was not valid for her flight, we could not allow her to travel on this occasion.

“We are reminding customers via email during booking and prior to travel to ensure they are aware of the travel requirements for the destination they are flying to and it is customers’ responsibility to ensure they are aware of have the correct valid travel documents.”

The news comes after families were told not to book holidays until they have new passports.

Up to 9.5 million passport applications are expected to be filed this year after millions expired during the pandemic.

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This had resulted in many families waiting much longer than the recommended five to six weeks for their passports to be returned.

The Government has since warned that Britons should not book a holiday until they have their passports back – as they have different numbers.

https://www.thesun.ie/travel/8762736/family-holiday-cofu-ruined-easyjet-passport-flight/ Our family holiday to Corfu was ruined after easyJet refused to let us on their flight – my children were in tears