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Wendy Melville was left devastated at the airport when a simple passport error prevented her from boarding the flight alongside her husband Gerry, 49, and their two children, Henry, 16, and Kate, 13. Whilst three members of the Melville family passed through security without issue, Wendy was stopped by airport staff who highlighted that her passport was set to expire in January 2026. The 46-year-old had clocked this detail during online check-in for the family getaway but hadn't considered it problematic . The Bedfordshire mum told Luxury Travel Daily: "It let me check in online and didn't flag anything - if it had, I would have had time to get a new passport." At 4am on October 26, the family turned up at Luton Airport for their 6am flight to Crete, Greece , when things began to fall apart for Wendy. She said: "When we checked my bag in, it told me to speak to a member of staff. I thought it was just a tech issue - I wasn't panicking. Then they told me my passport expires within the next few months and they were really sorry but couldn't let me on. "We had to choose between all of us going home and losing the holiday or me staying behind and trying to get a new passport. I sent my children away with their dad and said I'd join them. It was devastating. I was absolutely gutted, I was in tears." Numerous countries require travellers to have between three and six months' validity remaining on their passports from the date of arrival or departure. Wendy said: "I'd never heard of the rule. Your passport is valid but you can't use it - it's bonkers. "What's the point in having an expiry date? Everyone in the passport office was saying how common it is because you look at the date and think it's valid." Determined not to let the obscure regulation ruin her break, the mum secured the earliest available passport appointment two days later, arranged another flight and eventually reunited with her family on day three of their holiday. The little-known requirement ultimately set Wendy back £250 for a new passport, £106 for accommodation near Gatwick and £86 for a replacement flight. Wendy said: "It ended up being an expensive mistake and I had to wait four hours for my new passport. "When I finally got there, it was lovely. I made the most of the all-inclusive I'd missed out on, so it was a great holiday in the end. But people need to know the rule - always check your expiry date and the entry rules of the country you're going to."
