Carla Acosta was left in tears when she was turned away from her flight to Rome, leaving her and her boyfriend out of pocket and unable to go on their surprise trip
21:58, 16 Jan 2025Updated 21:58, 16 Jan 2025
Carla Acosta (left) and her boyfriend were unable to travel(Image: Carla Acosta)
Travelling to Rome had been Carla Acosta’s dream since her boyfriend surprised her with the six-day getaway to mark their four-year anniversary.
However, the romantic gesture rapidly unravelled due to a passport mistake Carla never anticipated. When she was denied boarding at the gate, she was devastated. Carla said: “My boyfriend surprised me with a six-day trip to Rome to celebrate four years of us being together and at that moment I remember feeling super excited to go on the trip.
“My biggest worry was getting my leave approved at work and what I was going to wear for the trip, checking my passport didn’t even cross my mind in all the excitement.”
Carla said she ‘cried a lot’ and felt bad for her boyfriend(Image: Carla Acosta)
“When we arrived at the airport early in the morning, all was good and I got my passport and tickets checked at the counter before heading in but when I was at the boarding gate the staff there were shocked at how I got this far as my passport was set to expire on June 10 and I was flying on March 14 and didn’t have 3 months from that day to the expiration day – I had missed it by just four days.
“I was told I couldn’t board the flight because of the 3-month validity rule, and it made me feel horrible.”
She added: “I felt extremely guilty that I had not checked my passport. I even told him to go alone and at least meet our friends who live there, but he refused to go without me on our anniversary. I cried a lot and felt really bad for my boyfriend because it was a waste of his money, and we couldn’t go to Rome to celebrate our relationship.
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The couple lost a total of more than £400 in flight and hotel bookings. It was a huge let down and now Carla admits “I always check my passport and visas before planning each trip,” reports Cornwall Live .
“I wasn’t aware of the 3-month rule to go to EU countries, and I wish I had been more careful. My advice to other travellers would be to always be extra cautious and check your travel documents before planning your trips so this doesn’t happen to you.”
Research from Post Office found that nearly half of UK passport holders who are planning on travelling abroad are aiming to book their 2025 holiday in January. But a quarter say they never check the validity of their passport when booking a trip.
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Travel expert and writer Clare Vooght advised: “Check your passport’s validity well in advance to ensure it meets the entry requirements of the country you’re travelling to.
“Currently, when visiting EU countries your passport needs to be valid for three months, and the issue date must be less than 10 years before your departure date, while six months of passport validity is either recommended or required for destinations including the US, Canada, Australia, Dubai and Thailand.”
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