Couple forced to pay thousands at airport because ticket was booked under wrong name

There's nothing worse than rocking up to the airport, ready to soak up some sun, only to be told you've made a mistake with your holiday booking.

Whether it's forgetting to add your carry-on luggage and being handed an extortionate fee from Ryanair, or discovering your lavish honeymoon getaway has actually been booked for the following year, it's utterly devastating to hear there's a bump in the road at the time when you're supposed to be relaxing.

And no one is more painfully aware of that feeling than one couple, who were this week handed a staggering fine by airport staff after entering the wrong name when making a booking.

Australian duo Kate and Phil had purchased two tickets return tickets to London for AU $4,800 AU (equivalent to around £2,534) from the travel site StudentUniverse.

They'd booked to fly from Brisbane to Melbourne with Virgin Australia, and then to London via Doha on Qatar Airways.

But upon reaching the check-out desk in Brisbane, however, the couple were informed there was an issue with one of their tickets.

Getty/Tang Ming Tung

Unfortunately, Phil had innocently booked his wife's plane ticket under the name 'Kate', but her passport reads 'Katherine'.

Whilst some might believe that airport staff would have surely understood the duo's mistake, it was classed as an administrative error.

"I think I married Kate in church and not Katherine," Phil told press following the incident.

Virgin reportedly advised the couple that they'd be able to change the name on the booking website in exchange for a small admin fee.

StudentUniverse had other plans in mind for the couple, however, and informed them that in order to fly, they'd need to cancel Kate's ticket - only to receive a partial refund - and buy a new one under the name 'Katherine'.

Getty

It was then that the couple were dealt the eye-widening blow that they'd need to fork out a colossal AU $4,700 (£3,141) on the new ticket

"They didn't have time – that was their reasoning – to issue a name change on the ticket. But they had time to sell us a new ticket," Phil later explained.

Kate continued: "I begged them on the phone: 'Pease, you can't do that – that's all our holiday money gone in a flash'."

It sounds as though the pair learned the hard way...

Tyla contacted StudentUniverse for comment.