A mum has been left devastated after missing out on a £4,500 ‘holiday of a lifetime’ over a tiny passport issue.
Claire Page says she broke down in tears and collapsed to the ground at Manchester Airport after check-in staff said she couldn’t fly to Lapland with her family.
The 37-year-old booked the Christmassy three-night stay in Finland for £4,700 a year ago to surprise her husband Justin and their two boys, Ashton, 11, and Grayson, seven.
Their travel package with TUI included staying at the Snowflake Hotel, a reindeer sleigh ride, a snowmobile ride with huskies and of course, a visit to Santa.
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"It was quite simply my dream trip," she told the Manchester Evening News. "It's one you always think about and want to do with your kids in your lifetime. I had been saving for it since Ashton was a baby. My husband always said it was too much but it was something I wanted to do for them all so I paid for it with my own money."
She told Justin a few days before telling the kids on Ashton’s birthday (the day before they were due to fly). But them being ‘amazed’ soon turned sour when they arrived at the airport in the early hours of December 1.
Claire said she’s travelled with her passport at least a dozen times and ‘never thought it would be an issue'. But with elves surrounding the check-in desk, staff told the Bolton mum there was a problem.
She said she was aware of a rip on the photo page, close to the spine, which apparently happened around five or six years ago at a Spanish airport.
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A number of staff examined it before telling her she couldn’t travel to Lapland.
"By this point I was crying, my kids were crying," she said. "I fell to the floor. Two other ladies from TUI came over and picked me up and took me to the side."
Claire plead with her husband to still take the kids but he said he ‘couldn’t do it’ as he knew it was her ‘dream’.
“But I told him we had to think of the kids,” she added. “I said 'you have to get on that plane, or I will never forgive you.' We'd only told them the night before so there was no way they weren't going."
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The mum is ‘certain’ that if she’d been let through ‘nothing would have been said’ about her passport.
"They told me I could be turned back or held in immigration and I said that's fine. I was happy to take the risk. I was having to watch all the other families checking-in and doing what I should have been, it was heartbreaking,” she said.
The British government website states if your passport is damaged 'you must replace it' and 'may not be able to travel with it.' It will be considered damaged if there are 'holes, cuts or rips in the cover' or 'any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing’.
The airline adds it sent a picture of Claire’s to Finnish immigration who said they would not accept it. “They said to me, someone has gone to tell your husband, I will show you the way out'. And that was that,” the mum added.
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Claire couldn’t get a new passport in time and says while her family enjoyed the activities, they were often upset over her absence.
"I will never get this opportunity again, because my oldest goes to high school next year so it will likely be his last year of believing," Claire said. "So even if we could afford to go again it wouldn't have that full, magical Christmas feeling.
TUI say staff 'tried their best' to allow Claire to travel, but that after speaking with the Finnish immigration department, the request was turned down. It adds a rep stayed with her until she was picked up at the airport.
A spokesperson said: "We were very sorry to hear that Mrs Page was not able to travel with the rest of her family earlier this month. Government regulations do not allow passengers to travel with damaged passports, and after our teams spoke with the relevant authorities her passport was unfortunately denied. We encourage all customers to check their documents are valid and not damaged before they travel."
Jess Battison