TUI has promised to give retail and call centre staff additional training on post-Brexit passport rules after it admitted incorrectly advising customers that one of their passports was invalid.
The two 79-year-olds were told by staff in its Hastings branch that the passport didn’t comply with EU rules for travellers arriving from countries outside the bloc.
The couple was wrongly informed by staff at the agency that passports must be no more than nine years and nine months old for entry to the EU.
This was later confirmed by staff in TUI’s calls centre, when the couple rang to double check the advice they’d been given in the brand just hours before their flight to Tenerfie.
After speaking to the calls centre, the couple believed they’d be turned away by TUI’s check-in staff at the airport so decided not to travel last Saturday and lost their £1,700 holiday.
However, after The Independent newspaper contacted TUI on the couple’s behalf, the company accepted that staff had misinterpreted passport rules.
A TUI spokesperson said: “Our teams are trained to provide customers with factual and accurate information, on this occasion we did not do that. We are very sorry for the distress and inconvenience this has caused.
“A full investigation is underway to establish the root cause of the incorrect information given and further training on passport validity will be given to all of our retail and call centre colleagues.
“Once again we would like to express our sincere apologies for the incorrect information given.”
TUI has agreed to refund the couple in full, including their pre-booked parking, and has offered a £200 voucher for a future holiday.
