A would-be traveller excited to see his girlfriend for the first time in three months claims that he was unable to visit her due to a small stain on his passport. Jamie McMann had booked flights to Cancun, Mexico through TUI to see his partner - who had been away travelling around South America.
The 26-year-old told how there had been some confusion at the check-in desk in Manchester Airport, April 29, where Jamie claims TUI staff queried the stain, before assuring him that his documents would be fine for travel. He also claims that he has used the same passport to travel multiple times over the years, landing in the likes of Tunisia, Romania and Serbia without hassle.
However, when reaching the gate to board the plane, Jamie alleges that staff raised concerns with the stain - and that it had not been documented on the system by the staff member who checked it just hours before. He said: "I explained I had been through this with the TUI manager at check-in, who had explicitly assured me this wouldn't happen as they had already followed procedure"
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The MEN reports that he added: "The staff claim this was not documented, so they would have to ring her to confirm. For 25 minutes they try to get hold of the relevant line manager to absolutely no avail. Naturally my anxieties are high at this stage. Multiple members of staff look at my passport, scan it and reassured me that it would be fine.
"Despite this, minutes before the flight is due to leave, they are told not to let me on the plane. At this point I am a wreck of emotions as you'd expect. Anger, shock and sadness. I could not believe the disorganisation and lack of empathy I experienced."
Having paid £750 for the flight, and still desperate to get to Mexico, Jamie says that he then found his closest passport office which was open in Liverpool - with plans of trying to get a new passport and book onto the next available flight.
The Stockport lad claims that staff at the officer were 'shocked' through his experience, but ultimately admitted that they wouldn't be able to issue him with a new passport the very same day. In response, TUI cited how the 'water damage' on his passport was 'sufficient for ground operation teams to be concerned' - also reminding passengers of the importance of keeping passports in pristine condition.
Jamie added: "I find the closest passport office was in fact still open on the day. I was planning to sort my passport and then switch my attention to re-booking the soonest flight to meet with my girlfriend. The emotional turmoil caused by being reassured that I would be able to board at check-in, then by multiple members of staff at boarding, to then moments before the plane leaves being denied, is considerable.
"Aside from the emotional consequences, this has jeopardised my plans, leaving me in financial disarray for travel costs and two weeks of accommodation across Mexico. I cannot afford to book another flight and as noted, will lose out considerably."
In a last ditch turn of events, Jamie's girlfriend took a break from her travels in South America, flying back to Stockport to spend the fortnight with him on May 6. However, this meant that Jamie also had to reallocate his annual leave at work.
Following his complaint, Jamie said that he was in contact with TUI - who have since apologised for the 'distress caused' in a statement to the MEN. They also said that they have attempted to contact Jamie to discuss a resolution.
A spokesperson for TUI, said: "We would like to apologise to Mr McMann for any distress caused by denying him to board our aircraft due to the water damage on his passport. It is the responsibility of the airline to ensure that customers will be able to pass border controls when they arrive in destination and the damage was sufficient for our ground operations team to be concerned.
"Our team has since contacted Mr McMann directly to discuss a resolution. We would like to remind customers of their responsibility to keep passports in good condition."
