In October 2018, in Lyon, EasyJet refused to allow a minor to board a flight to Naples because her passport had expired 18 days earlier. The family ended up travelling by coach and lost a night’s accommodation. Years later, the Lyon Court of Justice ruled in their favour (judgement of 26 February 2026): €871.70 for material damages and €2,000 for non-pecuniary damages. In short: not everything the check-in desk says is law.
The legal basis lies not in standard European legislation, but in the 1957 European Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. This agreement, which remains in force, allows Spanish citizens to travel to certain countries with a passport that has been expired for less than five years, provided that the stay is of short duration (maximum 90 days) and does not involve any professional activity. The Cour de cassation itself had already confirmed this in 2020, also in a case against EasyJet. It is not new, but it seems that some check-in desks have not yet got the message.
Where does this apply? In the countries that have signed the agreement: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus, Turkey and Switzerland, amongst others. In other words, it is by no means a marginal issue.
If you are Spanish and are denied boarding under these circumstances, there is a legal basis for making a claim. Whether you want to argue with someone at the boarding gate at 6:00 am—someone who is simply following internal procedures—is another matter. Being in the right is all well and good. Being allowed to board the plane is even better.
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