Why do airlines invent passport rules, and what to do if you’re wrongly denied boarding a flight?

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The passport validity rules for UK travellers to destinations around the world are straightforward to find through official sources – notably Foreign Office travel advice. Again, British Airways The errant decisions by BA staff to deny the passengers boarding follows many cases in which travellers to the European Union were wrongly turned away. Europe’s biggest budget airlines imposed a made-up rule that no British passport could be accepted for travel to the EU beyond nine years and nine months after its issue date. Yes – even before Brexit, leading UK airlines occasionally wrongly turned away passengers with valid British passports heading for continental Europe.