A woman had to travel 650 miles in both directions to renew her passport after breaking a three-month rule.
Monique Shaw was scheduled to travel from Manchester Airport to Portugal on April 30. But the 19-year-old did not realize that her passport was not valid for three months after her return on May 7, North Wales Live reported.
The mother of one child tried to get a quick meeting in Liverpool to renew her passport, but managed to get one only in Glasgow. She had to tour her home in Pulheli on the Lynn Peninsula to make sure she could travel.
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The cost of the trip – added to the price of renewing the passport to £ 177 – reached almost £ 400, Monique said. She said Jet2 did not inform her that she could be denied at the airport when the boarding passes were issued.
But the travel company says there is no way for an airline to verify the true validity of a customer’s travel document until it is physically inspected at the airport. You can read more about stricter passport rules here.
The passport was due to expire on July 21, which means she has only ten and a half valid weeks left in the travel document, instead of the required 12. Initially, the holiday to Albufeira was booked in 2020 for Monique’s 18th birthday, but due to Covid was pushed twice. Jet2 said customers should check the validity of their passports.
Monique had to travel to Glasgow to renew her passport (Image: PA)
Monique said: “It was all a huge pain, to be honest. We had already given the Jet2 passport data and they accepted it and released our boarding passes.
“If we hadn’t seen an article online about a woman who was rejected from the airport, we wouldn’t have known there was a problem. Neither I nor my family had any idea that we had to stay with him for three months after his return.
“It was disappointing, because if we had been able to travel when we originally planned, my passport would have been quite up to date. Obviously no one could have predicted the outbreak of Covid, but surely there must be some leeway if the holiday was booked before even new rules came in?
“What’s worse is that my passport was valid for the flight and the return, but since it was ten and a half weeks after our return trip, I had to renew it or I couldn’t go. I have a 10 month old baby and I didn’t want to risk being rejected at the airport.
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“I think airlines need to inform people about the problem because so many people don’t seem to know about it. It was impossible to make an appointment closer to home.
“Ideally, I would go to Liverpool, but there were no reservations, and when a few showed up due to the cancellation of other people, they would go again immediately. I was considering a trip to Durham, but it was a one-week passport and I still had to change flights.
“Fortunately, it’s in order now and I have my new passport, but it cost me £ 177 to get my passport, plus the price of fuel to travel to Glasgow and back was over £ 150 and £ 63 for a hotel. My meeting was at 9:30 in the morning, so we didn’t have much choice but to travel the night before. “
People traveling to the EU’s Schengen area, which includes Portugal and 25 other European countries, must have a passport valid for at least three months after the day they plan to leave, according to the government’s website. Following Brexit, some EU countries in the Schengen area insist that passports should not be more than 10 years old.
A Jet2 spokesman said: “When a customer registers online, there is no way for the airline to verify the true validity of the customer’s travel document until it is physically inspected at the airport.
“As part of our pre-departure communications, we always remind clients to check the validity of their passports, in accordance with government advice. We also direct them to our travel requirements page on our website, where they can find more information on how to ensure that their passport is valid for travel and in accordance with government advice. “
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