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article_detail
Date Published: 10/05/2022
ARCHIVED - British gran held at Alicante Airport, Spain for 32 hours after losing passport
The 66-year-old had flown from Glasgow to the Costa Blanca and somehow lost her passport during the flight
A British grandmother's dream holiday turned into a nightmare when she was detained in a "cell-like" detention centre at Alicante-Elche Airport for 32 hours after somehow losing her passport during a flight from Glasgow on Saturday May 7.
Sharon Dempsey's daughter Adele immediately posted her mum's plight on Facebook, which was shared almost 100 times, asking if anybody had been on the same British Airways morning flight in the hope somebody had picked it up by accident.
Meanwhile, Mrs Dempsey was left in a "terrible state" and being treated "like a criminal" for more than 24 hours when she was given only water and bread rolls, her daughter told Glasgow Live.
“I know that rules are rules but she was being treated like a criminal - not just someone who had accidentally lost her passport," she added.
In the social media post, Adele said the plane had been checked and there was absolutely no sign of the passport, which Mrs Dempsey had obviously used to get through customs and board the flight in the UK.
Mrs Dempsey, who was travelling with her brother, noticed the vital document was missing when she sat down on a bench before entering Alicante terminal so tried to get back on the shuttle bus to get back on the plane to have a look, but "airport staff were not helpful" when she tried to explain.
The distraught grandmother, whose brother had no option but to go to their booked hotel alone, was told by immigration officers that, following Brexit, a valid passport stamp was needed to cross into Spain.
Whilst her mum was 'in custody', Adele contacted the British consulate who advised her to book her mother a flight back to Scotland, providing emergency travel documents for the return journey.
But officials at Alicante-Elche Airport kept Mrs Dempsey in the detention centre overnight, "preventing her from boarding a flight home".
Finally, after 32 hours, she was escorted to a plane bound for Gatwick - almost 450 miles from her home - by Spanish police.
"She was in a terrible state. She said she hadn’t even washed her face and felt so dirty and was left in tears outside Gatwick with another long wait to get back to Glasgow," said Adele.
The Home Office has since confirmed that they had assisted a British woman in returning to the UK after the loss of a passport, but there has been no official statement from Alicante Airport or the Valencia Immigration Office.
Post-Brexit, Brits traveling to the 26 countries within the European zone, including Spain, must now have their passports stamped on entry and exit.
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