A SEVERELY disabled young Forest man was dismayed when his holiday plans ended at Birmingham Airport because his passport had only a month to run.
"He was devastated. There were a lot of tears," said teacher Patti Hale, of Lydney, the mother of Mark Paraskos, 22, who had been looking forward to travelling with a carer to see his grandparents in Cyprus.
"To make matters worse it seems he will get no money back – it is a little-known new law introduced after September 11 which I feel people should be made aware of. I would hate it to happen to anyone else."
Mark only learned of the ban when he tried to check in to board his Airtours flight, booked through Forest Travel of Lydney, at Birmingham.
"Forest Travel have been wonderful, and they have done everything they can to help us to get our money back, but apparently there is a note about the new law in the small print at the back of the brochure where nobody notices it much," said his mother.
"I have also complained to the Passport Office, because it effectively means that everybody's passport is around six months shorter than they think. It doesn't make any sense."
Mark, who suffers from a rare condition which makes him physically dependent on care though mentally able, is being looked after at a care home in Malvern where he made a private arrangement with his carer to be accompanied on holiday.
A spokesperson for the Passport Office in Newport told the Review all they did was issue passports.
"However, airlines and many embassies are refusing travel to people whose passports are running out, how long depending on the different organisations concerned," she said.
"Also many travel agents are now warning their customers of this."
A spokesman for Airtours said the Government of Cyprus stipulated people with less than three months on their passport could not enter and since this applied to Mark they had to comply. At the time of going to press the firm had made no comment on whether alternative flights would be offered.