‘Embarrassing’ reason couple barred from plane

A couple were banned from flying and escorted out of an airport over an “embarrassing” passport mistake.

A UK couple has accused Ryanair employees of kicking them out of the airport after barring them from flying due to a minuscule tea stain on one of their passports.

The “embarrassing” incident occurred July 7 while Roy Allen, 29, and his girlfriend Nina Wilkins, 35, were preparing to fly the budget Irish airline to Costa Brava to Spain for a week.

“It’s just a stain on her passport,” Mr Allen said.

The seven-night holiday had been a Christmas gift present from Ms Wilkins’ mum.

Rory Allen and his girlfriend Nina Wilkins were barred from flying over an ‘embarrassing’ passport detail. Picture: Kennedy News

Things began innocuously enough with the couple presenting their passports to the Ryanair check-in at East Midlands Airport, before proceeding to security.

“She [the desk clerk] looked at all of our passports and didn’t really bat an eyelid and then we went through security,” Mr Allen said.

The couple reportedly spent more than $370 on food, drinks and other airport concessions, unaware that their dream jaunt was about to take a major left turn.

“We weren’t even thinking about the possibility of not being let on the plane,” Mr Allen continued.

The pair were about to board irish budget airline Ryaniar when staff said due to a tea stain on Nina’s passport, they couldn't board. Picture: Kennedy News

Things went south during boarding after the gate staff examined the pairs travel document and declared they wouldn’t be let onto the plane because of a tea stain.

“This passenger was correctly refused travel from East Midlands to Girona (July 7) as their passport was damaged and therefore not valid for travel,” a Ryanair spokesperson said in a statement.

“Ryanair requires each passenger to ensure that their passport is valid for travel in line with the relevant requirements at the time of travel.”

A Ryanair manager later apologised and explained that the desk clerk should have never waved them through.

The couple found their predicament particularly ridiculous as they’d used the tea-stained passport (pictured) before without incident. Picture: Kennedy News

However, Mr Allen found the predicament ridiculous as they’d used her tea-stained passport at other airports without issue.

He claimed the document’s essential information was visible despite the splotch. But despite this, the couple was forced to vacate the airport.

“After we got our bags, we got escorted out of the airport like we were criminals and it was embarrassing,” Mr Allen said.

Ms Wilkins said the incident made her “really upset”.

The pair described the situation as ‘distressing’. Picture: Kennedy News

“I cried and I got so anxious,” she said. “I suffer with cystic fibrosis and signed as disabled so the way I felt I was escorted out the airport, there was no care or help.”

The situation was extra distressing given that Ms Wilkins’ family were on the plane and had taken off for sunny Spain.

A glimmer of hope came after the aforementioned airline manager urged the couple to rebook their flight through Jet2 as the airline accepted passports with some damage — a discrepancy Mr Allen found ludicrous.

“I don’t understand how one airline can do this and another doesn’t,” he lamented.

Left with no other recourse, the bedraggled Brits obliged and booked the flights through Jet2, a decision that cost them over $600 for tickets plus other modes of transportation. To make matters worse, the couple missed out on the first day of their vacation.

Thankfully, Ms Wilkins didn’t experience any passport-related issues on the pair’s Ryanair flight back to the UK from Spain on July 14.

While Mr Allen was grateful that they were able to salvage the trip, he still found it shocking that they had to endure so much rigmarole.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission