Expert issues important passport warning to people traveling to EU countries

Anyone heading off to Europe has been urged to give their passport a closer look before setting off, as one easily missed detail could end a holiday before it even begins.

For the majority of travellers, checking the expiry date might seem like enough reassurance that everything is in order.

However, travel expert Simon Calder has warned that British holidaymakers can still find themselves turned away from a flight despite technically having a passport that hasn't expired.

Plus, with plenty of people travelling to popular European destinations over the summer months, Calder said the problem has already caught out a huge number of passengers.

In fact, one traveller who learned that the hard way was James Luton, who had been preparing to fly to Portugal to celebrate his 50th birthday. Despite believing his passport was valid, he was reportedly refused boarding at the airport because the document had been issued more than 10 years earlier.

Travellers can be refused boarding even when their passport hasn’t expired (SolStock/Getty Images)

Speaking on BBC Radio 2, reported by the Mirror, Calder explained: "Unfortunately, he [James] is just one of thousands upon thousands of people who have fallen foul of this.

"As we speak, there will be people who have headed to the airport, and the same thing happened to them. It is just absolutely miserable."

The issue comes down to passport rules for people travelling from the UK to the EU and other countries within the Schengen area. Calder warned that, with the exception of Ireland, travellers cannot enter the EU using a passport that is more than 10 years old on the day they arrive.

It also needs to have enough validity remaining for the trip.

He said: "You must remember, if you are going to the EU apart from Ireland, you cannot have a passport older than 10 years on the day you enter. It is the only part of the world that cares about when your passport is issued.

"Everywhere else only cares about the expiry date. Please, if you are going away in June, July and August, please check that your passport is going to comply.

"Has it had its 10th birthday on the day you plan to go away, and has it got at least three months left on the date you plan to leave? That way, we can hopefully avoid too many more wrecked holidays."

Older burgundy passports are more likely to be affected by the rule (newsfocus1/Getty Images)

The rule is particularly worth checking for anyone still using an older burgundy passport.

Before 2018, unused validity from an old passport could sometimes be carried over when a new one was issued, meaning some passports remained valid for as long as 10 years and nine months.

That practice was later scrapped, whilst the newer blue British passports only began being issued from 2020 onwards.

Parents should still check children's passports carefully, however, as these generally have a much shorter five-year validity period.