Airline blames ‘very confusing’ post-Brexit passport rules as passenger turned away from two flights

Good to travel: Jessica Zielinski with the passport she was using when KLM turned her away (Lara Ellison)

Three-and-a-half years after post-Brexit passport rules took effect, Dutch airline KLM says it is still unsure what they actually mean.

The carrier – one of Europe’s top airlines – insists the rules are “very confusing and interpreted differently depending on who we speak to”.

The revelation came after KLM turned away a passenger from two Birmingham-Amsterdam flights in the same day, even though she had valid passport.

Jessica Zielinski, 30, arrived in good time for a 6am flight to Amsterdam on 24 November 2022. She was due to return three days later, and had a passport valid for travel to anywhere in the European Union up to 18 December 2022.

Staff working for KLM denied her boarding, claiming her passport has “expired” a week earlier – which was nine years and nine months after issue.

This was incorrect. So Ms Zielinski, an engineer from Leamington Spa, spent the day trying to persuade the Dutch airline’s Amsterdam HQ to let her travel.

At one point KLM asked her for an additional £200 to allow her on the evening flight.

When eventually she was given a new ticket and tried to check in for the later Amsterdam flight, she was turned away once again.

KLM has refused any compensation for her ruined long weekend in the Dutch capital.

A spokesperson for the Amsterdam-based carrier said: “KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are not immigration specialists and rely on information from Immigration Liaison Officers.

“It appears that this particular entry requirement rule into the EU is very confusing and interpreted differently depending on who we speak to.”

All other major carriers and the UK government have long accepted the rules as confirmed to The Independent by the European Commission:

• On the day of outbound travel to the EU, a British passport must not be more than 10 years old.
• On the intended day of return, the passport must have at least three months remaining before the expiry date.

Ms Zielinski, whose passport complied with both conditions, told The Independent: “I’m really upset even 18 months later. It felt like a huge waste of finances and expenditure on this trip, and it was devastating missing out on seeing my friends who live abroad.

“But mostly, it had a knock to my confidence in flying and I have chosen to not take a holiday abroad since because of the way I was treated.”

The Dutch airline spokesperson said: “KLM will again seek advice from the Immigration Authorities.”

Having been wrongly denied boarding for two flights on the same day, Ms Zielinski appears entitled to £440 in compensation together with a full refund plus lost costs incurred after KLM prevented her from boarding.