£1,000 new year’s holiday ruined as Jake Burton’s passport tear derails family’s travel plans

  A family’s New Year’s holiday turned into a nightmare when 19-year-old Jake Burton was denied boarding by Ryanair due to a one-centimeter tear in his passport. The Burton family, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, faced devastation as their £1,000 holiday plans came crashing down.

Jake Burton was all set for his first foreign holiday with his parents, Rachael, 47, and Chris Burton, 51, in Benidorm, Spain. However, at East Midlands Airport, he failed Ryanair’s final passport check due to a small tear, leading to the family’s holiday being derailed.

Rachael and Chris Burton claimed that the tear, just one centimeter in length and on a page opposite the main information, did not make any crucial information illegible. Despite being allowed to fly, the couple refused to leave their son behind and opted not to board the plane.

The eight-day trip, scheduled to start on December 28 and continue through the New Year, resulted in a significant financial loss for the family. The £1,067.64 spent on flights and £167 allocated for taxis and transfers went to waste. Fortunately, the family had not prepaid the hotel, saving them an additional £392 for each room.

Rachael Burton expressed doubt about recovering the money but emphasized the impact on her son, stating that the incident may have put him off flying for life. Ryanair responded, stating that Jake Burton’s damaged passport was not valid for travel.