The airlines should pay for ruining people's travel plans

It’s time they got to grips with the rules on passport validity instead of making up their own, says a fed-up

- Simon Calder

Hull is an intriguing city that rewards a weekend stay. But even the city’s most ardent fans would concede that is not quite such a draw as Paris. Regrettably, Laura and Joe Booth are spending the weekend beside the Humber rather than the Seine.

On Friday morning, the couple arrived at Humberside airport at 5am to board KLM flight 970 to Amsterdam, with a connection to Paris CDG. Joe had arranged it as a surprise trip to celebrate Laura’s birthday. They both had passports valid for their weekend trip. Laura’s passport expires in June this year, but is good for travel anywhere in the EU until 21 March 2025.

Plug the issue and expiry dates, along with details of the trip, into the KLM “TravelDoc” passport checker and you get a big green ticket with a message reading: “You are clear to board this flight.” But ground staff working for KLM at the airport decided they knew better. “Check-in staff took it upon themselves to remove three months from her passport validity – and refused her a boarding pass,” Joe told me soon after 9am on Friday.

It is four years since that “oven-ready” Brexit deal with the European Union took effect. The UK successfully negotiated with Brussels for British passport holders to become “thirdcountry nationals” like citizens of Venezuela and Samoa. That means a UK passport must meet two conditions: