The mum was with her two children when she was told the devastating newsHannah Phillips and Ashlie Blakey Live and breaking news reporter
09:00, 21 Jul 2026
Victoria Vigors was left in tears following the incident(Image: Jam Press/@uk_victoria)
A heartbroken mum’s ‘holiday of a lifetime’ with her two children ended in tears at the boarding gate after staff discovered a mistake on her daughter’s passport.
Victoria Vigors spent two years saving up £6,500 for the dream two-week break to Hurghada in Egypt with her children Riley, 15, and Roxie, nine, but was unable to board the plane. The 41-year-old said the passport mistake was ‘so embarrassing’ and said her children were ‘devastated’.
Victoria said it would have been the family’s first two-week holiday abroad together and their first experience of staying at an all-inclusive resort. The family had checked in online, dropped off their luggage and gone through security at London Gatwick with no problems, she said.
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But moments before boarding their easyJet flight, the family were stopped at the gate when staff scanned their boarding passes. Staff found Roxie’s passport did not have the required period of validity remaining for travel to Egypt.
“My stomach dropped and I felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach,” Victoria, from Kent, told creatorzine.com. “The kids crumpled and I burst into tears.
“I begged the staff but there was nothing they could do. We had to be escorted back to get our luggage off the flight. It was so embarrassing. The kids were devastated, Roxie kept saying it was her fault and we were so disappointed. It was a really bad day.”
Victoria posted about the passport detail on TikTok(Image: Jam Press/@uk_victoria)
Roxie’s passport expires on January 4, 2027, but Victoria said she had not realised this would cause a problem for travel to Egypt. According to the UK government’s foreign travel advice, British passport holders travelling to Egypt must have at least six months’ validity remaining on their passport from the date of arrival.
Because Roxie’s passport did not satisfy that requirement, the airline refused boarding. The content creator said: “I wasn’t aware of the rules.
“I was given her passport the day before we flew by her dad. In my head, it was six months anyway, so I didn’t think there’d be an issue.
Victoria, Roxie and Riley(Image: Jam Press/@uk_victoria)
“For people like me who don’t always travel and it’s the first time with my children, I wasn’t to know. I would have thought when I put her passport details in to check in that would tell me it wasn’t valid.
“That would be a simple system to install so save this agony and heartbreak. It’s crazy.”
Victoria and her daughter Roxie(Image: Jam Press/@uk_victoria)
Victoria said the family are now desperately trying to obtain an emergency passport in the hope they can salvage the final few days of the holiday as they’re unable to get a refund. She added: “I’d been saving up for two years.
“We were incredibly excited as we’d never had a two-week holiday abroad together or been to a resort like this. It was going to be the holiday of a lifetime.”