In Manchester, the Estlick family experienced a shocking moment: an ink stain on father Myk’s passport led to the airline denying him boarding. According to a report by the “Mirror“ Myk, his wife Charlotte and their six-year-old daughter Nyla were on their way to a holiday in Turkey.
“The way the staff treated us at the airport was disappointing”
Despite previous trips with the same document without any problems, the strict controls at the airport did not allow for discussion. Charlotte tried desperately to remove the stain at the counter, and in doing so damaged the passport further. The result: the trip, which cost 2,500 pounds (3,000 euros), fell through.
“The way the staff treated us at the airport was disappointing,” Charlotte told the Mirror. There was no way to get an emergency passport within a few days, which would have meant Myk would have missed most of the trip. “My little girl was standing there crying at the airport because she couldn’t go on holiday,” the mother continued.
Employees in the office cannot see a stain
Government regulations state that a passport can be considered damaged if details are illegible or there are ink stains on the pages.
After returning home, Charlotte visited an airline travel office in Bury, where she said a member of staff found no problems with Myk’s passport. Charlotte formally complained to the airline and her case is now being investigated by a senior officer who has 28 days to respond.
Australian woman is not allowed on the plane because her passport is torn
A similar story occurred in Sydney, where Virgin Airlines stopped Elyse Elmer at passport control because a small tear in her passport could jeopardize her entry into Indonesia. Unlike the Estlick family, the airline was accommodating and allowed Elmer to rebook her trip. For her, this began a race against time to obtain an emergency passport in less than 24 hours.