'Ryanair refused to let me fly to £700 Lanzarote holiday over tiny tear in passport'

'Ryanair refused to let me fly to £700 Lanzarote holiday over tiny tear in passport' EXCLUSIVE: Rachael Norton-Voysey's plans for a sunshine break with her pal were wrecked - now she's warning other holidaymakers to check their passports before booking a getaway A 'gutted' holidaymaker claims she was booted off the Ryanair flight for her £700 Lanzarote holiday - due to one strict rule. Rachael Norton-Voysey had been jetting off to Lanzarote from Birmingham Airport for a five-day getaway with her pal on June 4 2026. But it was only when the 33-year-old got to the boarding gate that she claims she was 'shocked' to be told she wouldn't be able to fly by Ryanair staff due to a 'tiny' 1.5cm rip in her passport. Photos show the 1.5cm rip along the right side of the photo page, however, the artist says it 'doesn't obscure' any pictures or details. Despite this, she claims staff were 'petty' by not letting her fly, so her friend also decided to miss out on the holiday and they were both forced to make the 'sad' train journey back home. The UK Government's website warns that any passport that is ripped is considered 'damaged' so should be replaced as you may not be able to fly. Rachael is now spreading awareness about the importance of checking your passport for rips and urges holidaymakers to get a passport holder. Rachael, from Erdington, Birmingham, said: "It was gutting for us both. We got to the gate and handed in my passport at that point to get onto the plane and he said it was ripped and they wouldn't let us through. "It was horrible. That feeling where your stomach just drops knowing we wouldn't be going on holiday at that point. There's no arguing with them once they do that. My friend could've gone but she didn't want to go without me. "We had to sit there and wait for them to finish boarding and then they escorted us out. We had to watch everyone get onto the flight. I was completely shocked as I've travelled on [this passport] for ages. It's a tiny rip really. It's not on any of the details and it doesn't obscure anything. "The rip is on the right side of the picture page sort of just down from the top. It doesn't go through any information but it is a rip on the picture page. I understand where they're coming from but it is really petty in my opinion. "Even when they took us back through immigration to the airport, even the immigration [staff member] said it was harsh." Rachael revealed that she and her pal are hoping to finally fly to Lanzarote in September after they managed to rearrange their AirBnB stay. Now she hopes to spread awareness to others about her experience so it doesn't catch anyone else out. Rachael said: "The journey home was so sad. Both of us had worked so hard to get up to that point. It was so painful. "I did put in a complaint letter just saying that I thought it was a little bit mean and that they should be a bit more consistent considering they've let me fly on this passport before. "I had no reason to worry about it, which is the thing that's annoyed me. I've had the passport for eight years and don't know when the rip happened. "I think it might've happened when I was abroad before, hence why I just never thought of it because I managed to get home fine and I didn't think about it until I went abroad again. I should've thought about it but I never did. "When I get my new passport I'm going to be locking it away and getting one of those new passport holders. Everyone should get a passport holder. Check your passport well before you're going to travel, put it in a case and get travel insurance because we also didn't have travel insurance which could've saved us a bit. "Everyone should check their passports because it might be fine nine times out of 10 but that one time might ruin a holiday." The UK Government website warns: "If your passport is damaged you must replace it. You may not be able to travel with it. HM Passport Office will consider your passport damaged if […] any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing." A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "This passenger was correctly refused travel from Birmingham to Lanzarote (4 Jun) as her passport was damaged and therefore not valid for travel."