EasyJet wrongly blames passenger for staff mistake, denies boarding and leaves them £800 down

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Mother and daughter Sheila and Jessica Queenan have been left more than £800 out of pocket after easyJet applied the wrong passport rules – and ruined a birthday trip to the Canary Islands.

On 21 May 2022, they arrived at Gatwick airport for an easyJet flight to Lanzarote, where Sheila Queenan was planning to celebrate her 68th birthday.

Both women had passports that complied with the post-Brexit rules for British travellers to the European Union.

But ground staff working for easyJet turned Sheila Queenan away, wrongly insisting her passport was not valid.

After Brexit, the UK government negotiated for British passport holders to be treated as “third-country citizens”, subject to the EU’s two rules on validity:

Sheila Queenan’s passport met both conditions. Jessica Queenan said: “My mother was denied boarding at the gate. I wasn’t going to leave her at the airport and then travel alone on our holiday.

“We were left standing at the gate with no other explanation.

“Once back at home, I contacted easyJet to explain what had happened and request reimbursement and compensation for our ruined trip which was their responsibility because they had incorrectly denied her boarding.”

The airline was fully aware of the correct post-Brexit passport rules for Europe. Six months earlier, after detailed discussions with the relevant European Commission officials in Brussels, The Independent had provided the information to easyJet – together with full research notes and contact details so the airline could verify the rules for itself.

EasyJet finally started applying the correct rules in April 2022. Yet Sheila Queenan was wrongly denied boarding a month later. The airline then doubled down, blaming the passenger for having an out-of-date document.

A customer services agent wrote: “I have validated your passport and can confirm that the passport’s expiry date has been extended and we do not accept extended passports.

It is unclear what the agent meant: Sheila Queenan’s passport was perfectly normal. It was valid for 10 years and five months – as many passports issued before 2018 were.

The agent then added a false condition for British passports: “It must be valid for at least six months after the day you plan to depart.”

Sheila and Jessica went to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to seek recompense for their losses of £1,322, plus denied boarding compensation of £350 each. Jessica Queenan said: “I do not think this was an unreasonable request for a holiday that never took place.”

When an airline wrongly denies boarding to one member of a party, it has been standard practice that they compensate all the affected travellers, even though this is not legally required.

EasyJet made an offer of £489 – comprising the £350 compensation plus the airfare for Sheila Queenan but nothing for her daughter – without admitting liability.

The adjudicator, AviationADR, was due to rule in December 2022. But the decision took a further year. The adjudicator eventually ruled that Sheila Queenan was due only £489, as originally offered by easyJet.

Jessica Queenan said: “I have been so devastated by the whole experience, from being treated like a criminal at the departure gate to all the time spent trying to get this resolved.”

A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Following our offer of compensation for Sheila Queenan, the ADR provider decided that this was the right amount to pay and we will always adhere to their decision.”