Amber Maherloughnan flew from London Gatwick to Antalya, Turkey, on Monday 5 August with her family to enjoy a week-long holiday.
However, the 28-year-old was ‘shocked’ to be told her six-year-old son Reuben’s passport was nearly four months out of date upon arriving in Turkey.
The ‘terrified’ parent claims the pair had their passports ‘snatched’ away and were detained for nearly 24 hours by Turkish authorities in a room with 13 other people and only a ‘disgusting’ toilet to use.
(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
She claims they were given barely any food or water – only a ‘rotten tomato and an egg’ that was ‘kicked at them’.
Amber’s fiancé Will Land-smith, 31, tried to get a temporary travel document from the Turkish embassy however this would not guarantee the duo entry.
The mum-of-one was forced to pay for her ‘silly mistake’ as they had to fly home the very next day and miss out on the £6,000 trip.
Amber, who lives in Lewes, East Sussex, said: “It was horrible. I don’t want pity for myself. It was my fault.
“But the way I was treated with a child wasn’t fair. That’s the bit that got me the most. And how easily done it can be. I should never have been flown through. It was an oversight.
“Embarrassingly, the passport expired about three months before. I do take full responsibility. But I do feel like when you’re at an airport and they say it’s passport security, their job is to do passport security.
“It’s just sad. I’m basically a tourist and my son and I were treated like that. It was the thought of him going through it all. Luckily, he was amazing. It was not nice for him at all.”
The mum revealed she and her son were detained by police officers for nearly 24 hours and claimed they were treated like ‘criminal[s]’.
Amber said: “They treated me like a criminal. They took me into an office with four officers and said, ‘you’re not allowed into the country, there’s nothing you can do’.
“They tried to get me to sign this paperwork and snatched the passports out of my hands, they wouldn’t give them to me.
“Then they locked me in a room for 13 hours without what I’d call food. They put a rotten tomato and an egg in a box and kicked it across to me.
“They gave me one bottle of water for myself and my son. At one point there were 13 of us in this room. They treated me like a criminal.
The mum-of-one revealed the experience left her feeling like she’d ‘ruined everything’ after forking out £6,000 for the trip and vows to be ‘extra careful’ in the future.
Amber said: “It’s ruined our whole holiday financially. We had to book separately for another flight home. Expensively, it was bad.
“I’ve just been in limbo the whole time. It’s been quite traumatic and upsetting and I just feel like I’ve ruined everything.”
The UK Government website states that if you are visiting Turkey, your passport ‘must be valid for at least 150 days from the date you arrive’.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs state on their website that visitors are ‘kindly advised to have a travel document/passport valid for at least six months as from the date of your arrival in Turkey’.
Gatwick said it is the airline’s responsibility to check passports and board passengers onto flights and that they don’t have any involvement.
Antalya Turkey airport said it was a matter for the passport police authorities to comment on.
SunExpress airline and the Turkish Police Association and their passport division have been approached for a comment but failed to respond.
