EasyJet doubles down after incorrectly turning away mum from holiday that left toddlers ‘distraught’ and family thousands out of pocket
EasyJet has doubled down after incorrectly turning away a mum from holiday leaving her children “distraught” and costing their family thousands.
Ellie Boltman along with her two children and husband Alex Stone were excited for their trip with easyJet to Tenerife for a pre-Christmas holiday.
The family turned up at Luton airport for their flight on December 16, all holding valid passports that met the requirements for an EU holiday.
Requirements dictate that the passport should have been issued no more than 10 years ago and that there should still be three months to the expiry date.
Boltman’s passport was valid to travel to the EU until late February 2025, however, she was denied boarding by a member of EasyJet staff.
Her husband said the staff member took one look at the passport and said his wife would not be able to fly.
“She said that since Brexit the rules had changed and the expiry date was no longer relevant. She went off to ‘check with a colleague’ but returned very quickly and confirmed we couldn’t fly,” he said.
He added: “She said the expiry date was actually the 10th anniversary of the issue date and we needed to be returning home at least three months before that date.”
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Although this rule has never existed, EasyJet pretended it did for months after the UK left the EU in 2021.
After pressure from The Independent, the airline began applying the real requirements.
However, in this case, EasyJet reverted to its false interpretation of the rules.
Ultimately, the mother was forced to abandon the holiday, leaving her husband and two young children to make the trip without her.
She then quickly managed to visit Peterborough Passport Office to obtain a replacement document. Boltman flew out to join them three days later.
In the meantime, her husband contacted the airline to complain about their treatment and seek compensation.
EasyJet however doubled down on their decision, saying: “Following the escalation of your case, it has been determined that our team refused your wife correctly due to her passport validity.”
They insisted the couple was in the wrong, and ultimately only offered a £13 refund of air passenger duty. The cost of her trip had been around £1,000.
When The Independent contacted EasyJet on behalf of the family, the airline reversed its decision.
A spokesman apologised for the error, saying: “We have clear processes in place around documentation validity and so we are looking into this with our ground handling partner at Luton airport to understand why this wasn’t followed correctly on this occasion and why Ms Boltman was provided with incorrect information when she raised it with us, as this is not our policy.”
They added they had apologised to the woman and reimbursed her the full travel expenses and provided compensation.
Stone said: “Despite meeting all requirements, my wife was denied boarding, causing emotional distress, financial loss, and a disrupted holiday for our family.”
“Given the sheer scale of easyJet’s operation, it’s hard to believe they haven’t resolved what is ultimately a very simple compliance issue.”
This is not the first time EasyJet has made this wrong decision. In April 2024, passenger Jaqui McGeough was turned away on the same grounds. In October 2024 they turned away golfer Stephen Jackson in a similar situation.