Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News & Media
Topics: Travel, Wedding, Sex and Relationships
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Travel, Wedding, Sex and Relationships
They'd said their vows, cut their cake and danced their first dance as a married couple, and newlyweds Joe and Beccy Barnes couldn't wait for their all-inclusive honeymoon.
Tragically, however, just hours after arriving at the airport in preparation for jetting off to Ayia Napa, Cyprus, the Nottingham couple were turned away by TUI airline staff.
Why? Well, apparently, Joe's passport was in no condition for international travel, and the pair were sent packing.
For background, Joe and Beccy had been together for five years when they tied the knot on 2 August.
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Ahead of their big day, they'd asked wedding guests not to bother with a gift, and instead, to donate any cash they could to their honeymoon fund.
By their own admission, the specifics surrounding their honeymoon plans were rather last-minute, and eventually, they agreed on a five-day, all-inclusive TUI package holiday to Cyprus' party capital.
After arriving at East Midlands Airport four days after their nuptials and presenting the check-in agent with their passports, the couple were dealt the bad news.
They wouldn't be permitted onto the plane due to the state of 35-year-old forklift driver Joe's travel documents.
Not only did staff discover a 1cm rip on the upper right-hand corner of his passport's photo page, but several pages had also endured suspected water damage - enough for staff to reject the pair.
Arguing their case, the couple claimed father-of-two Joe had travelled with Jet2 on his stag do three weeks earlier, with no issue.
"We got to the front check-in desk and the woman said, 'You've got a slight rip in your passport page - I need to go talk to my manager'," Joe recalled. "She said, 'Yeah there's a rip in it'.
"I'd actually flown with Jet2 three weeks before for my stag do, and that was absolutely fine. I didn't know about the rip until then."
Despite this, TUI stood its ground.
Eventually, a 'devastated' Beccy, 38, suggested they go home, despite the fact they were set to lose out on their £1,200 honeymoon.
"There was no compassion at all," Joe added. "I told them it was my honeymoon. But TUI headquarters got back to say 'do not let this man travel'. I thought this 'can't be happening'.
"It was horrible. We sat around the airport for a good two hours trying to think of solutions."
The couple even attempted flying out with a different airline, but Jet2 refused Joe's travel, too.
"I just couldn't believe it," he went on. "Me and my Mrs were mortified. I felt like crying my eyes out.
"We'd had an amazing weekend with the wedding and everything just went downhill. My wife was absolutely devastated.
"It was a horrible feeling. I wouldn't want my worst enemy to go through this."
Joe and Beccy have since slammed TUI's decision as 'pathetic', with the former claiming he 'could understand it if it was a massive rip over my photo or my personal details', not a small tear.
"It's looking doubtful that insurance will cover it," he went on to claim. "It's quite unlikely. We're just going to try and book something later on.
"The worst bit is that it's other people's money."
Now, the couple are issuing a vital warning to other fliers, with Joe advising: "I would warn people to get their passport checked, even if there's a slight mark on it."
Approached for comment, a TUI representative confirmed that Joe had been denied travel due to his passport being 'very badly damaged', claiming the couple had even attempted to repair it by using tape.
They recommended that Joe liaise directly with his insurance provider in a bid to receive some form of compensation and to contact the passport office for an urgent replacement.