Denied onboarding

elsien

I recently met someone on holiday who just lost a 4K cruise, because they didn’t realise they needed an Esta. 

Always best to double and quadruple check everything.

silvercar

It’s an interesting one. I’m surprised you were allowed to take the outgoing flight.  

The rule is that you must have a valid passport to travel, in spite of the fact that a citizen always has the right of entry to their own country. A airline will say this in their t&c to protect airlines for the costs and fines when they transport someone denied entry. It also prevents the obvious risks of too many people travelling without current passports and falsely claiming that someone else’s passport is their own but it’s an old photo.

Given that you have the expired passports, you had proof that they were citizens and can’t be refused entry if you could find some other way of getting back. The airline doesn’t have to help, but possibly could have done by moving your flights free of charge. I’ve heard of this happening in emergencies.

silvercar

https://www.ukabroad.net/british-passport-emergency-travel-documents-requirements/

as I alluded to in my previous post, with the permission of border force, you can occasionally be allowed to travel:

https://www.caribbee.com/news/can-you-travel-on-an-expired-passport/

I do know someone who had their passports stolen on the way to the airport and had photocopies with them, the airline phoned ahead and they were allowed to travel.

Westin

silvercar said:

https://www.ukabroad.net/british-passport-emergency-travel-documents-requirements/

as I alluded to in my previous post, with the permission of border force, you can occasionally be allowed to travel:

https://www.caribbee.com/news/can-you-travel-on-an-expired-passport/

I do know someone who had their passports stolen on the way to the airport and had photocopies with them, the airline phoned ahead and they were allowed to travel.

I suspect had the OP been flying back DIRECTLY to the U.K. then Border Force may have been contacted and permission granted for travel and entry to the U.K.   The Istanbul connection could well be the issue.

I recall a couple of years ago someone reported here how their passport was lost overseas and the British Embassy granted an emergency passport to them for immediate and direct travel back home to England.  They however decided to book the cheapest flight back to the U.K. which had a self-transfer in another country. They were denied travel because of this.

LunaLater

I was allowed to travel recently despite my passport having been stolen. I had to very politely beg and plead to be allowed to depart, and then to plead my case with immigration back in the U.K. but would have understood had I been denied.

The alternative would have delayed my by a week, and cost a lot of money, but I understood that that wasn’t the fault of the carrier.

I’m really sorry that it happened to you, but it’s really no-one’s fault but yours, and you’re not going to get anyone giving you money to cover your expenses.

bagand96

LunaLater said:

I was allowed to travel recently despite my passport having been stolen. I had to very politely beg and plead to be allowed to depart, and then to plead my case with immigration back in the U.K. but would have understood had I been denied.

If you're a UK citizen then the hardest part is being allowed on the plane. Once you get to the UK then border force aren't going to send a legitimate UK citizen back.  It may take a long time at the airport doing admin and verifying you are who you say you are, but it would be extremely unlikely you'd be turfed back out. 

If it's a direct flight to the UK then it can be possible to board a flight back without a valid passport.  It does depend how cooperative the airline and departure country Border Agents are, but it can be done. Having another photo ID and a copy of your passport will always help. Always keep a photo of mine on my phone!