A couple has sworn they will 'never fly with TUI again' after they were turned down from checking into their flight.
Penny Priestly, 59, and her husband Dug splashed £1,800 for a 10-day getaway to Benidorm. However, they were forced to miss out after arriving at East Midlands Airport on Tuesday, May 16, and were told they wouldn't be allowed to check in for the flight out.
After spending an hour in the queue, one of the employees looked at their tickets and stated they weren't allowed to fly. According to the couple, the only alternative that was offered to them by a supervisor was to go ask Jet2 for a flight, Nottinghamshire Live reports.
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Penny said: "We just turned up and were waiting an hour in the queue, I think we were about fourth from last and the girl on the checkout said to the other girl, 'Can you check those dates?' She checked and said 'No, they can't fly'.
"Then a bloke came over, a supervisor or something, and he said our only alternative is to go to Jet2 and ask them if we can fly [with them]."
The couple were informed that their passports did not meet the airline's policy of having a minimum of one year left and were due to expire in February 2023- a policy they weren't aware of despite flying with TUI before. Penny highlighted that they were still able to fly with other airlines.
The couple went to Jet2 who suggested they could fly with them. However, the couple claim TUI wouldn't allow them to return on their airline with the initially booked flights.
Penny added: "We paid another £860 and Jet2 looked into it and said we could go back with them and just fly one way with them, but then a supervisor came over. He also said we would lose the hotel if my husband didn't ring up, so we had to ring the hotel up and tell them we were coming a day later."
Because they flew on the following day, the pair lost all of their airport transfers to the hotel. Penny vowed they would 'never ever' fly with TUI again.
She added: "We will always use Jet2 now or Ryanair, or even easyJet - they could fly us as well."
A spokesperson for TUI said: "We’re sorry that Mr Priestly was unable to fly with TUI as planned as his passport did not meet the required government passport guidelines. We strongly advise that our customers check their passports are up to date before booking any flights.
"Details of passport validity guidelines can be found here."
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