RYANAIR WRONGLY REFUSED MY VALID PASSPORT - NEED ADVICE ON COMPENSATION

keepsim

Hi everyone,

Ryanair refused to let me fly Stansted to Rome on 24/05/2025, claiming my UK passport was invalid. Here are the facts:

• Passport issued: 15/04/2015
• Passport expires: 15/01/2026
• Travel date: 24/05/2025

On travel date, my passport was only 10 years 40 days old and had over 7 months validity remaining. Jet2 let me fly to Italy the next day with the same passport, proving it was completely valid. I was in Rome the very next day with Jet2 !!

This cost me £600 in rebooking plus 2 days of stress and ruined the start of our family trip.

Questions:

1. Do I have a strong case for EU261 compensation?
2. Can I claim the full £600 costs plus compensation?
3. Should I go straight to AviationADR or try Ryanair customer service first?
4. Has anyone successfully claimed for similar Ryanair passport mistakes?

Really want to make them pay for this incompetence. Any advice from people who've been through similar?

Cheers!

Peter999_2

Answers : 

1. No
2. No
3. No
4. I doubt it

Unfortunately they are correct.   If you fly from the UK to Rome you must have a passport that was issued less than 10 years ago before your date of travel.     Jet2 shouldn't have let you fly, but they probably made a mistake.

Entry requirements - Italy travel advice - GOV.UK

Hope this helps.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

keepsim said:

Hi everyone,

Ryanair refused to let me fly Stansted to Rome on 24/05/2025, claiming my UK passport was invalid. Here are the facts:

• Passport issued: 15/04/2015
• Passport expires: 15/01/2026
• Travel date: 24/05/2025

On travel date, my passport was only 10 years 40 days old and had over 7 months validity remaining. Jet2 let me fly to Italy the next day with the same passport, proving it was completely valid. I was in Rome the very next day with Jet2 !!

This cost me £600 in rebooking plus 2 days of stress and ruined the start of our family trip.

Questions:

1. Do I have a strong case for EU261 compensation?
2. Can I claim the full £600 costs plus compensation?
3. Should I go straight to AviationADR or try Ryanair customer service first?
4. Has anyone successfully claimed for similar Ryanair passport mistakes?

Really want to make them pay for this incompetence. Any advice from people who've been through similar?

Cheers!

How confident are you given gov.uk states this?


Passport validity requirements

Italy follows Schengen area rules. Your passport must:

have a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the date you arrive – if you renewed your passport before 1 October 2018, it may have a date of issue that is more than 10 years ago

Caz3121

On travel date, my passport was only 10 years 40 days old

So not valid to fly to EU as over 10 years old
Jet2 should have also refused you travel- they risked being fined and you returned straight back
the costs are down to you not understanding the passport requirements as your passport has been no good for travel to the EU since 15th April 2025

keepsim

https://www.italia.it/en/italy/practical-information/travel-document-italy

Italy’s official government website doesn’t mention anything about a “10-year passport rule.” They only require that your passport has at least 3 months of validity remaining beyond your planned stay.

While in Rome, my family and I asked at least five different immigration officers, and every single one confirmed the same — only the 3-month validity matters, nothing about when the passport was issued.

Jet2 staff were completely confident about this. I personally spoke to four airport shift managers before our flight and even met one in person. They’d received an internal memo making it clear: as long as you meet the 3-month validity, you’re good to fly. So, it wasn’t a mistake on their part.

A friend of mine even checked with British Airways staff (through a friend of a friend), and they confirmed the same: it’s only Ryanair making a fuss over this, likely just to squeeze extra money from passengers.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

This is from Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

https://www.esteri.it/en/servizi-consolari-e-visti/ingressosoggiornoinitalia/passaporti_documenti/

In particular, please note that:

no visa may be affixed to a travel document that has expired;

the residual period of validity of the travel document shall be at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Schengen States;

the travel document shall have been issued within the previous ten years;

the travel document shall have at least two free pages.

Grumpy_chap

The OP may find this worth a read:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2025/05/martin-lewis-passport-checks/

Aylesbury_Duck

keepsim said:

https://www.italia.it/en/italy/practical-information/travel-document-italy

1. Italy gov website has no mention of 10yr thing, they only look at min 3 months validity.  
2. I and my family asked no.1 to atleat 5 different immigration officers at Rome.
3. Jet2 were super-confident, I personally spoke to 4 airport shift manager before flying + meeting 1 in person. They had rather received an internal memo confirming to allow such passenger as long 

min 3 months validity is good so it is not a mistake.
4. a friend of mine also check with British Airway staff (friend of friend) he too confirm it is only freaking Ryan that does it to mint money. 

1. But the UK government site specifically mentions it, and given that Stansted is in the UK, the airlines flying from there should be abiding by that guidance.  

2. But they're in Rome.  See point 1.  Unless one of them is willing to confirm, in writing and in their professional capacity that Ryainair didn't comply with the official guidance, it's of no help to you.

3. It doesn't matter what Jet2 did.  That's an entirely different contract, and how they choose to work is their choice.  It has no bearing on Ryanair's actions.

4. Irrelevant.  The official UK government advice trumps advice from a friend of a friend working at an airline.

I don't see that Ryanair has done anything wrong here.  They appear to have adhered to the rules.

Peter999_2

Ok.   Fair enough,   go ahead with the complaint and try and claim the £600.     No doubt they will come back to you and advise that under Article 6 (1a) of the Schengen Border code a passport must be no more than 10 years old on the date of travel for Non-EU travellers.

Ryan Air have followed the rules and enforced them as per the Schengen Agreement.   At least this will never happen to you again in the future when you get your new passport.

Money_Grabber13579

It’s ultimately an EU rule and Ryanair have correctly applied that rule. I’m not usually much of a fan of Ryanair practices but on this occasion, I can’t see that they’ve done anything wrong.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-nationals/index_en.htm

sheramber

keepsim said:

https://www.italia.it/en/italy/practical-information/travel-document-italy

Italy’s official government website doesn’t mention anything about a “10-year passport rule.” They only require that your passport has at least 3 months of validity remaining beyond your planned stay.

While in Rome, my family and I asked at least five different immigration officers, and every single one confirmed the same — only the 3-month validity matters, nothing about when the passport was issued.

Jet2 staff were completely confident about this. I personally spoke to four airport shift managers before our flight and even met one in person. They’d received an internal memo making it clear: as long as you meet the 3-month validity, you’re good to fly. So, it wasn’t a mistake on their part.

A friend of mine even checked with British Airways staff (through a friend of a friend), and they confirmed the same: it’s only Ryanair making a fuss over this, likely just to squeeze extra money from passengers.

The link you have given is not thte official government website . it is  the tourist information site, so not official.

You can check passport validity for yourself here  https://www.tui.co.uk/passport-checker