British tourist barred at Birmingham Airport, spends £1,000

A British tourist was turned away from Birmingham Airport last week after a post-Brexit passport rule invalidated his travel documents, forcing him to spend nearly £1,000 to salvage his holiday. Terry Winter, 56, from Oxford, was prevented from boarding his easyJet flight to Tenerife on Friday, June 12, despite his passport not having expired.

The issue arose because Winter's passport had been issued more than ten years prior to his planned arrival date. Under rules that took effect after the UK left the European Union, British passports must be less than ten years old on the day of entry for travel to most EU countries, including Spain. Winter said he was unaware of the requirement and was shocked when a check-in kiosk flagged his passport as invalid. He reported seeing at least two other passengers encountering the same problem at the airport that morning.

Having not traveled abroad since 2018, Winter and his wife, Molly, had meticulously planned their two-week holiday, booking flights in January and securing an airport hotel. Winter said he entered his passport details during the initial booking and again during online check-in three weeks before departure, but the system did...