EastEnders legend Tracy-Ann Oberman MBE has revealed she’s stranded at an airport after attempting to fly to Spain, and despite her passport expiring next year, she wasn’t able to fly
Tracy-Ann Oberman MBE has been left stranded at an airport(Image: PA)
Tracy-Ann Oberman MBE has been left stranded at the airport. The legendary actress has revealed that, despite her passport expiring in 2027, she was denied permission to fly to Spain.
The actress, who played Chrissie Watts on the BBC’s EastEnders, vented her fury after she was left “stuck” and made a public appeal to both Ryanair and the Home Office for assistance.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, the 59-year-old said in view of her 112,000 followers on the micro-blogging site: “Just tried boarding a flight to Spain. My passport runs out June 2027. Was refused boarding because apparently it ran out in 2026 according to new European rules.
“Can anyone explain this to me? I’m now stuck @Ryanair @ukhomeoffice – check your passports people. Who knew.” Tracy-Ann’s online followers were quick to offer advice to the star.
One pointed out that passports are only valid for 10 years from the date of issue, regardless of the expiry date. “I wasn’t aware of this. It doesn’t flag it up massively when you book the ticket,” she replied.
The MoneySavingExpert website states: “IMPORTANT: If you renewed your burgundy passport early, it could be more than 10 years old. The extra months may have been added to the new passport’s validity. This means your passport could have plenty of time left on it but could still be more than 10 years old, and therefore excluded from some travel destinations.”
Meanwhile, calling out to Travel Expert Simon Calder, Tracy-Ann said: “I had a whole year! But they said it didn’t count. @Ryanair people said that they get fined for people travelling with the extra year on their passport and they don’t want to pay the fine is that illegal. Help?”
Simon responded: “Hi Tracy-Ann, so sorry to hear about this. If your passport runs out in June 2027, the earliest it could have been issued is September 2016 – which means it cannot have had its 10th birthday yet.
“If you can provide exact dates I can advise. If you have been wrongly denied boarding, the airline must find you another flight as soon as possible, including on a rival airline if that is the fastest way to get you there. In addition, you should be provided with a hotel if an overnight stay is needed, and cash compensation.”
Ms Oberman also claimed on X that when inputting her passport details into her booking, she wasn’t alerted of any issues surrounding the validation of the dates on her passport.
According to Citizens’ Advice, Brits will need to renew their passport if there are fewer than three months left at any time while travelling. They add if your passport is ten years old or more on the day you enter the EU country, adding: “Count this from the date your passport was issued.”
Ms Oberman said she had been “looking forward” to her family holiday after a busy period of work, both on stage and on screen. Tracy-Ann had been heading to Spain after wrapping filming on Harlan Coben’s The Woods before taking part in her next project, Noel Coward’s Present Laughter.
When approached by The Mirror, a spokesperson for Ryanair said that as they had not been provided with the booking reference or flight details “we are unable to comment on the basis of an unsubstantiated X thread”.
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