Holidaymakers who have been wrongly told by easyJet and Ryanair their passport isn't valid before boarding a flight are being urged to claim compensation.
As new passport rules came into force due to Brexit, Brits can't travel to the EU on a passport that is due to expire in a matter of months.
The new rules mean that you must have at least three months left on your passport after the day you plan to leave an EU country, excluding Ireland but also including Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and Vatican City.
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However, as the Mirror reports, a report by The Independent has revealed how customers of Ryanair and easyJet were wrongly told they needed to have at least six months left on their passports, not three months, for travel to the EU.
And off the back of that, Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert is urging travellers to claim compensation worth up to £520 per person.
The money you could be owed would be on top of a full refund for your original flight.
Coby Benson, a solicitor at Bott and Co also told MoneySavingExpert that incorrectly being denied entry would also be trigger for compensation on top.
He said: "Where the passport has been incorrectly read, then the denied boarding provisions absolutely apply."
EasyJet passengers can request a refund, make an expenses claim and launch a full claim for compensation online.
Ryanair passengers need to email the airline to request a refund, though you can make an expenses and compensation claim online.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules state that passengers who have wrongly been refused entry onto a flight are entitled to either a full refund or an alternative flight.
It must be noted that the amount of compensation you could receive depends on the length of your original flight and the delayed time.
For example, for an original flight of under 1,500km and disruption time of less than 2 hours later at final destination would trigger £110 compensation. Meanwhile, for arrival of more than two hours later, the money owed jumps to £220.
Medium flights with a length of between 1,500km to 3,500km, the compensation is £175 for disruption time of less than three hours, or £350 for more than three hours.
Long-haul flights of over 3,500km will trigger £260 compensation for delays under four hours, or £520 for more than four hours.
Passport rules for EU travel
Depending on where you are travelling to - generally you will need to have at least six or three months left on your passport.
The guidance from Gov.uk says: "If you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must meet the Schengen area rules."
Your passport must meet 2 requirements. It must be:
- Less than 10 years old on the day you enter (check the ‘date of issue’)
- Valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)
If you had extra months added to your passport, it looks like will be valid for over ten years, but that means it will no longer count towards the minimum period needed to travel within the EU.
