Passengers travelling via international hub airports, and who remain in the transit area, typically need only need to meet the red tape requirements for their final destination. But KLM has a policy on documentation that means many UK travellers could inadvertently be denied travel via Amsterdam.
Standard practice for big Continental hubs such as Frankfurt, Paris CDG and Copenhagen is that passengers making connections between “non-Schengen” nations – such as UK to US or India to Canada – do not need documentation entitling them to go through passport control into the EU.
But the Dutch airline says connecting passengers at Amsterdam Schiphol airport must be fully documented for entering the European Union and wider Schengen area, even though many of them have no such plan.
“Passengers travelling via the international transit zone of Schiphol must therefore be in possession of a passport that was issued in the past 10 years and is valid for at least three months after the transfer,” the airline says.
The rule came to light when a British passenger, Gavin McDermott, approached KLM check-in at Leeds Bradford airport. Five days earlier, his passport had reached 10 years old since issue. It was no longer valid for entering the European Union. But as he was planning to change planes “airside” at Amsterdam airport, and the passport had plenty of validity for Hong Kong, the rules for the EU were irrelevant.
The Skyteam alliance, of which KLM is a member, has an online passport checker that simply says: “Travellers require a passport valid for at least one month after the traveller exits Hong Kong.” Mr McDermott met this condition.
Ground staff at the Yorkshire airport, though, turned him away. Mr McDermott then travelled by train to London, stayed overnight in a hotel and spent £1,000 on a new flight to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific.
He later contacted the Dutch airline to ask for reimbursement of the extra costs triggered by the decision to turn him away, as well as the statutory £520 in denied-boarding compensation.
But the claim was refused in a response that included several factual errors.
Mr McDermott was told by KLM: “A passport must be valid for a minimum of 10 years from the date of issue in order to meet entry and exit requirements for international travel.” This is not correct; for example children’s passports are issued for five years.
“If your passport is set to expire in July 2025, it must have been issued in July 2015 or earlier to comply with the 10-year validity rule.” There is no 10-year validity rule for UK-Hong Kong travel.
“Since your passport was issued in January 2015, it has less than three months left of validity before the required expiration date.” The passport has, at the time of writing, one month left of validity for Hong Kong.
The letter concludes: “Based on this policy, the agent was correct in refusing travel due to the less than three months validity remaining on your passport, regardless of the showing expiration date.
“I am sorry you are unhappy with our response, however our decision will not change.”
KLM later told The Independent: “The international transit zone of Schiphol is considered the external border of the Schengen area. This means that the travel document requirements of the Schengen Borders Code and/or the Visa Code apply.
“Passengers travelling via the international transit zone of Schiphol must therefore be in possession of a passport that was issued in the past 10 years and is valid for at least three months after the transfer.
“This is not a recent change in regulations and is based on European regulations, not Dutch. Passengers do not need a full EU passport for transit via Schiphol, but a passport that meets the aforementioned conditions.”
The Independent is urgently seeking a comment from the European Commission in Brussels on the issue.
The KLM rule has serious implications for citizens of countries from whom the European Union demands visas. A Turkish person travelling to the UK or a Moroccan flying to Dubai would not be able to transit in Amsterdam unless they have an EU visa.
Frankfurt airport, the main hub for the German national airline Lufthansa, says: “No passport control is required as long as you do not leave the transit area.”
It adds: “Depending on their nationality, travellers may require a transit visa.” This applies to passengers from a dozen nations including Afghanistan, Iran and Nigeria.
The rule could provide a much-needed boost for London Heathrow. Citizens of huge countries such as China and India – plus rich locations such as Bahrain and Qatar – heading for North America face complex and expensive red tape if they were to transfer at Amsterdam.
Earlier this year, KLM wrongly denied boarding for a couple at Humberside airport who were flying to Paris for a birthday celebration.
The Dutch airline later apologised for the error by ground staff.
