Lyon court orders EasyJet to pay damages for expired passport refusal
Lyon court orders EasyJet to pay €4,872 damages for refusing passenger with expired passport.
Event / Politics
EasyJet Passenger Compensation Case
Lyon tribunal orders EasyJet to compensate passenger €4,872 for denying boarding based on expired passport. Court determined a 1957 European free movement agreement permitted travel with passports expired less than five years to signatory countries.
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2026-08-18 to 2026-11-15 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 4 May, 09:36 UTC
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What happened
Family denied EasyJet boarding due to daughter's expired passport
On October 20, 2018, a man and his family were denied boarding on an EasyJet flight to Naples because his minor daughter's passport had expired 18 days prior, despite the family having valid airplane tickets. The family was forced to travel by bus instead, missing their first hotel night and incurring additional expenses.
Similar 2020 case involved passenger denied boarding with three-year expired passport
In 2020, a tribunal previously ruled on a similar case involving a passenger who was refused boarding to Greece despite holding a passport expired for three years, establishing precedent that airlines cannot refuse passengers with passports expired less than five years when traveling to signatory countries of the 1957 European agreement.
Lyon tribunal orders EasyJet to pay €4,872 in damages for refusing expired passport
A Lyon tribunal ruled in late February that EasyJet must compensate a passenger €4,872 in total damages and legal fees after the airline refused to allow his minor daughter to board a flight to Naples on October 20, 2018, because her passport had expired 18 days prior. The court determined that EasyJet should have recognized a 1957 European agreement on free movement of persons that permits travel with a passport expired less than five years for signatory countries.
Initial court ruling in Villeurbanne rejected compensation claim
In 2022, a tribunal in Villeurbanne rejected the father's initial compensation claim, ruling that he had not provided adequate documentation of expenses incurred, though acknowledging the claim was founded in principle.
Court of Cassation orders EasyJet to pay legal fees and remands case
One year after the initial Villeurbanne ruling, the Court of Cassation ruled in favor of the passenger, determining that judges must evaluate damages when the principle of harm is established. The court ordered EasyJet to pay €3,000 in legal fees and remanded the case to Lyon tribunal for final adjudication.
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