Torn passport: denied entry after:

– It's very embarrassing. Absolutely incredible, actually!

This is what mother Rachel Burton (47 years old) shouted in front of many international media outlets, including: Newspaper news.

She is in disarray after the family's New Year's celebration in Benidorm, Spain, went awry last week.

Rejected at the finish line

Burton says she, her husband Chris, 51, and their son Jake, 19, were due to fly on Ryanair from East Midlands Airport in England to Benidorm in Spain on the New Year's weekend.

However, this was not the case:

Because even though the family made it through baggage screening and security without any problems, their son Jake was stopped at the finish line at a street baggage checker — and refused entry on the plane.

-He had a small tear at the bottom of his passport. For this reason, they refused to allow him to travel, much to the 47-year-old's surprise.

Her mother-in-law speaks of her great disappointment when she realized that the family would not be able to make it to Spain, where stays in spas, hotels, visits to restaurants and other fun awaited them.

She explained that only Jake was not allowed on the plane, but said she and her husband of course didn't want to leave without him.

– Broken

According to many media outlets, the 19-year-old son feels very upset after the mistake in his passport. He himself believes that the tear in the passport comes from leaving it in his pocket with him in the city.

The tear should be no larger than a centimeter, but still large enough to cause a problem. Therefore, the family will now warn others about how strict this is.

However, the family believe it was “unnecessarily harsh” for the airline to refuse the young man travel because of this small tear – which was also on the other side of the identity page in the passport.

– They could also have stopped us much earlier, instead of stopping us at the last survey section on the street. “We were all so ready for vacation, so it was very heartbreaking to have to be stopped at the finish line like that,” says Mum Burton.

According to News, the family was escorted through the airport to the exit. The family is said to have lost around NOK 15,000 in plane tickets and transport after the mistake.

– Very dangerous

Ryanair responds

The airline Ryanair has been criticized by the Burton family from several media outlets. They confirm the incident, but they stand firm in their position:

“This passenger was refused travel from the East Midlands to Alicante, as the passport was damaged and therefore unfit for travel,” the company’s statement said.

They do not wish to comment further on the incident. Many consumer websites – including police websites – state that passports should not be destroyed or damaged, as this affects their validity.

Many people are now reacting on social media to the fact that such “innocent tears” should be enough to cancel a holiday costing several thousand.

The Burton family themselves said they stayed in the house on New Year's Eve, and say they took a financial hit after the blunder.

Now they just hope the insurance company will help them.