I made tiny passport mistake minutes before boarding – it ruined my dream holiday and I couldn’t get a refund | The Sun

A HOLIDAYMAKER has hit out at an airline after she was forbidden to board the plane due to a tiny issue with her passport.

Claire Cowles' "dream trip" to Ireland ended in disaster at the check-in desk when she noticed a small tear in her travel document.

The 21-year-old, from the US, explained she had headed to the airport with her mum, boyfriend and his mum when she realised.

But she claims Aer Lingus staff point blank refused to let her proceed – while the foursome were already piling their baggage on.

In a TikTok video, Claire said she explained she had accidentally damaged her passport just "five minutes before."

"Not only will the airline not let us board, but they won't give us refunds," she fumed.

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The tourist admitted she began sobbing uncontrollably as the trip she had been "planning for months" was left in tatters.

The fact she was set to lose "thousands of dollars" on excursions, hotels and travel bookings only added to Claire's turmoil.

And as the icing on the cake, she revealed the trip had been a graduation and Christmas gift from her loved ones.

She explained in a video shared online: "I was causing a little bit of a scene at the airport. I was like sobbing violently everywhere."

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As Aer Lingus refused to budge on their tough ruling, Claire branded them the "worst airline" while blasting staff for providing the "worst customer service experience of her life."

"Thousands of dollars lost and no help, spare yourself and never fly Aer Lingus," the furious holidaymaker warned her 136,000 followers.

"Might I also add all of my necessary information was visible."

Claire claimed she even went to the US Customs Department to confirm whether the rip in her passport meant she could not fly.

She continued: " They verified they would have let me board and it was fine, just at the airline's discretion.

"It's the number one Irish airline so I thought it was reputable. It was a tiny tear nowhere near the code part.

"Some of the hotels and tours that we had booked also would not give us a refund."

According to the HM Passport Office, normal wear and tear on passports should be fine with only more serious damage such as marks, rips and removed pages preventing travel.

Claire then went on a frantic goose chase to find a solution to her travel woes and even ended up in the House of Representatives in Washington DC.

But despite going "straight to the source", she was unable to receive a passport in time and sadly missed out on her trip to Ireland.

Instead, she was forced to learn the hard way that the can airline have the final say on whether a passenger can travel or not.

"Moral of the story, renew your passports now people," she added.

Social media users were left stunned by the dramatic passport saga, with many reassuring Claire they would have had the same reaction.

One wrote: "Bro I'd cry and sue."

Another said: "I hate humans. Like if you can't be good at customer service and help me out then why are you here?"

And a third added: "I'd throw myself on the floor bawling omg!"

However, there was somewhat of a happy ending as Claire eventually made it to Ireland – albeit a few months later.

We previously told how a woman was unable to leave Sydney on her flight to Bali due to some slight damage to her passport.

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TikToker Emma claimed she was told she would have landed herself in a cell if she had tried to enter the Indonesian paradise.

And this woman was left in tears after her holiday was cancelled due to a small mistake with her passport.

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