Qatar Airways accused of pettiness after family’s vacation ruined because of ‘millimetre’ rip in passport

‘Tiny rip’ on passport leaves family’s dream £7k Thailand holiday in ruins.

A British family’s long-awaited vacation turned into disappointment when a Qatar Airways agent noticed a tiny tear in one of their passports.

Suzanne Senior, along with her husband Steve, daughter Bethany, and her boyfriend, had invested £7,000 in their dream holiday to Thailand. However, their plans took an unexpected turn on Friday when they were denied boarding.

Qatar Airways’ staff noticed a small tear on Bethany’s passport ID page, preventing her from boarding the flight to Phuket.

With the airline refusing to budge, the family decided to make last-minute changes, booking themselves a vacation to Turkey for a further £5,000.

However, her boyfriend didn’t want to ditch his Thailand plans, and continued on the original Qatar Airways flight alone.

The family said they experienced no issues on their flight to Turkey despite Bethany using the same passport, according to Manchester Evening News.

Suzanne, 55, a childminder, expressed her dismay, stating, “We’re utterly devastated. We had elaborate plans for seeing elephants, exploring islands, and more. We had been eagerly anticipating this vacation for an entire year.

“We were unable to even detect the tear; many people said the passport appeared fine. It’s a minuscule millimetre-sized tear, so we’re perplexed as to why it led to our denial,” she added.

Government guidelines define a passport as damaged if its condition prevents its use as a proof of identity. This includes scenarios such as unreadable personal details or observation pages, detached pages, or damage caused by spills or tears.

Suzanne expressed her frustration, stating, “We’ve had to spend another £5,000 to come here, and I have £3,000 worth of Thai baht that’s now useless. We’re going to attempt to reclaim the funds through insurance. It’s a complete nightmare.”

In correspondences shared with Manchester Evening News, Qatar Airways expressed regret that Bethany’s passport was not accepted for travel. While acknowledging the inconvenience, the airline shifted responsibility to passengers for ensuring proper documentation and declined liability for the family’s expenses.

The airline explained that the passengers themselves “have to ensure that they are in possession of the necessary entry clearance documents prior to commencing travel in order to avoid such encumbrances”.