Toby Keen had booked his family on a BA flight from Heathrow to Nice for a wedding in the south of France, but a check-in agent said he could not fly because his passport had slightly less than three months to run, the Independent reports.
Keen said: “This was a complete shock. When I challenged the agent, he blamed French immigration and said that BA would be fined £25,000 if he let me fly.
“I was left with no option but to let my family continue on and I would have to sort out the mess.”
Keen called the Passport Office advice line from Heathrow but was told nothing could be done for three days because it was a bank holiday weekend.
After heading to the main office in central London he was able to get a new passport issued, where he was told that his old passport was in fact still valid for travel to France.
Keen paid £210 for a replacement flight, the Independent reports.
The holiday was further disrupted by the need for Mrs Keen to make an extra trip from the villa where they were staying to Nice in order to add her husband to the car-rental agreement.
After the trip Keen contacted British Airways’ customer relations team and claims he was told his case had been reviewed and he was to blame.
The carrier said as the passport Keen attempted to travel with was the old style, it must be valid for three months beyond the period of intended stay.
However, since the UK joined the EU, British passports can be used for travel up to and including the expiry date.
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “This appears to have been a one-off mistake made by a member of staff and then accidentally and wrongly reiterated.
“There is nothing to suggest that anyone else has received such communication.”
BA added: “We are in touch to apologise and resolve the situation.”
Keen said: “With their (BA’s) negative response to my complaint landing the blame at my door again I lost all respect for them - acknowledging a mistake at bag drop and even a modicum of compensation and my faith would have been at least partially restored, but no.”
