Holidaying teacher ditched kids after they fell foul of little-known passport rule

A mother-of-two abandoned her children to go on holiday after they both fell victim to little-known passport rule.

Caroline Lowing, a school headteacher from Southampton, was due to travel to Malaga, Spain with her husband and two children, aged 13 and 11, when disaster struck.

“Everything came crashing down the night before our trip when I realised our children's passports only had one month left. Spain and other EU countries only allow you in with three months left and you cannot get a child's passport in less than a week," Caroline said.

The 45-year-old, who had booked everything at Christmas including a villa with a swimming pool for the children's enjoyment, then realised they would be unable to travel.

She commented: “I felt absolutely awful, like I had let my entire family down. As a headteacher, I'm used to handling high-pressure situations, but I felt like I completely missed this crucial rule about passport validity, I felt really embarrassed at this.

"My kids couldn't join us on the holiday that we’d been looking forward to for months, I was devastated. We had to eventually decide that my husband was going to stay home with the kids, and I went on the holiday with my parents.

"The worst was when we flew out and there were three empty seats next to me. I don’t cry easily but I cried the whole way there. The financial loss of thousands in three return flight tickets only added to my frustration.

"On top of that I gave my partner lots of money to take the kids out each day to make up for their lost holiday."

With the August bank holiday just around the corner, new research from the Post Office has revealed that 31 per cent of UK residents are looking to book a last-minute trip abroad to get their fix of sunshine after the unpredictable British weather this summer.

As a result, the Post Office is urging people to check country-specific travel requirements and their passport expiry date before booking last-minute trips to ensure they don’t run the risk of getting caught out at the boarding gate.

Elinor Hull, director of Government and Identity Services at Post Office said: “We want to make sure that the thrill of the last-minute holiday isn’t ruined by a nasty surprise at the airport. With its Check & Send passport services, Post Office branches and their Postmasters play a vital role in helping give holidaymakers advice and support on their passport applications so travellers can go on their vacations hassle free."

Post Brexit, UK passport holders must now ensure their passport has been issued less than 10 years before the date they enter the EU country and be valid for at least three months after the day they plan to leave. For some countries, there is also a six-month validity requirement.

Prospective travellers can check the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's (FCDO) advice pages for the country they are travelling to.