Tutor rages as TUI bars her from flight to the sun over 'slight damage' on passport

A holidaymaker was forced to spend another £1,200 for a new flight to Mexico after travel giant TUI refused to let her board her original flight over a "slight mark" on her passport. Laila March, 25, a private tutor from Croydon, initially thought she'd bagged a bargain with TUI, paying less than £1,000 per person for a week in Cancun to celebrate her sister Kaemarnie's university graduation.

But at Gatwick Airport on June 7, Laila was told she would not be allowed to board the plane due to her supposedly damaged passport - despite having used it frequently for work travel and having only returned from Morocco the previous day. In a desperate bid to salvage her holiday, Laila, who is studying to become a French and Spanish teacher, decided to try her luck with British Airways.

She said BA had "no issue" with her passport and let her fly. Not wanting her sister to journey alone, Laila also bought a last-minute ticket for £1,200 and managed to clear customs without any issues upon arrival in Mexico.

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Laila said the unexpected extra expense had put a significant dent in her savings, which she had intended to use in September when she begins her postgraduate degree in education at the University of Cambridge. After lodging a complaint in the hope of having her extra ticket refunded, the mum was initially told by TUI that her case had been closed.

But more than two weeks later, the travel company agreed to issue her a refund. "It's insane that TUI can say my passport is damaged and not allow me to board for fear I'm not going to be allowed into Mexico by passport control, and then for another airline to have no issue with the same passport, let me fly to Mexico and then I get through passport control," Laila told PA Real Life.

"I'm studying to become a teacher, I start in September, and that was money I had saved up towards getting myself set up for university." The UK Passport Office's website states that a passport is deemed damaged if "you cannot read any of your details, any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing, there are holes, cuts or rips in the cover, the cover is coming away or there are stains on the pages, for example ink or water damage".

"It was a very small mark, almost like a little scratch on the right hand side of the page but you would have to look very carefully to see it I hadn't even noticed until they pointed it out," Laila said. "It was the first time we were going on holiday just the two of us."

They reached the North Terminal TUI check-in desk two hours ahead of time, anticipating to pick up their tickets with time to unwind before their flight. But Laila said a check-in assistant scanned their passports and was about to give them their boarding passes when she noticed a minor stain in the top right of her picture page.

"She was like, 'What's happened to your passport? What's this mark on it? '," Laila said.

"Apparently there was a slight mark on the photo page, but it wasn't over any of the details and you could still read everything. She called someone who took my passport and disappeared for half-an-hour, even though I explained, I had flown into the same airport the day before and had travelled many times in the past year."

After a 45-minute wait, Laila was told she would not be allowed to board the plane. "They said Mexico had really strict passport control so I might not be let into the country," Laila explained.

"According to them, my passport was damaged so they couldn't allow me to fly with TUI because if I got to Mexico and they sent me back, it would be a charge for them. They told me British Airways was flying out from the South Terminal that afternoon and that maybe I could try with them."

"But how could they recommend I used another airline when they had just turned me away? I spoke to someone who works at Gatwick and showed them my passport and they said: 'I don't see why they wouldn't let you board'."

BA staff scanned her passport without a hitch and offered her a new ticket for £1,200 for an immediate departure. And she said in Mexico she passed through border control with ease: "There was absolutely no issue, I just had to pay an extra £1,200.

"I gave them passport and they looked at the mark. I understood what they were saying because I speak Spanish. They were saying the passport wasn't damaged because no pages had been ripped out, it could still be scanned and everything was clear, readable and you could see my face."

Now she has ordered a new passport ahead of a planned TUI trip to Jamaica later this year. She said: "The experience with TUI left a sour taste in my mouth and I want to avoid it happening again."

A spokesperson for TUI said: "We're sorry to hear Ms March was unable to travel with TUI as planned due to the damage on her passport. Customers are informed by email, and on our website, at the time of booking and prior to travel that UK Government's passport requirements must be followed.

"We strongly advise that customers check their passports are damage-free as if there is any concern a passenger could be denied entry to their destination, they will be denied travel at the discretion of our check-in team. Details of passport validity can be found at www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport/replace"