Travellers Urged To Check Passport As New Rule Could Ban You From Flying

The rules on how many months you have remaining on your passport have changed, meaning if you do not have the appropriate period left, you could be stopped from going abroad.

Previously, Brits have needed a passport to simply be in date to be able to travel in Europe, but since Brexit, this has changed. And with many people jetting off for the first time since the pandemic this summer, travellers are being urged to double check the requirements.

For most EU countries, UK citizens should have a passport with an expiry date 'valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave' and 'less than 10 years old on the day you enter'. This means it's crucial to check the issue date as well as the expiry date

It's also vital to double check requirements with specific airlines, after a number of leading carriers reported differing information.

For example, confusion arose a few weeks ago after information on the easyJet website explained: "For UK passport holders travelling to the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, please note that on your day of travel you'll need your passport to have at least 6 months left on it."

And Ryanair previously said the passport must be valid for "at least six months from the date of arrival" with at least "three months" left when leaving.

While this information appears to have now been changed, the issue caused some confusion on social media, with one person tweeting: "@easyJet travelling to Greece from London last week April, return before end of April. Passport expires end of August and is less than 10 years old. Gov website says that satisfies requirements of travel, but easyjet website says I need 6 months+. Will I be able to travel?"

While another said: "Anyone flowed [sic] recently on @Ryanair or @easyJet with 5 and 1/2 months left on passport? Heading to EU and rules state 3 months. But both airlines ask for 6. Contacted customer services and they said they only follow rules of the country."

Tyla reached out to easyJet and Ryanair for comment.