A two-time cancer survivor and her family were denied a once in a lifetime trip to Vietnam after they were told at the airport that their Bailiwick of Jersey-issued passports could not be processed.

According to an ITV report, Iwona Izbinska-Sosnowska, her husband Andrzej and 19-year-old daughter Ava, booked a three-week £5,000 vacation to Vietnam, flying on China Eastern Airlines from London Gatwick with a stop in Shanghai. The trip was supposed to be a memorable one as Iwona was also celebrating beating cancer, not one, but twice.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned when they got to London Gatwick to check in for their flight to Vietnam. At the airport, Andrzej was checked in successfully as he had a Polish passport, however China Eastern Airlines told both Iwona and Ava that they would be denied boarding. The airline said they could not accept their passports as they were issued in the Bailiwick of Jersey, even though they were both British nationals.

For context, Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands, located in the English Channel between southern England and northern France. Although it has close ties to the UK, it is not part of the United Kingdom. Instead, Jersey is a British Crown Dependency.

However, most people living in Jersey are British nationals even though their passports are issued in the Bailiwick of Jersey. As a result. they have the same rights as British nationals from the United Kingdom. In Iwona and Ava’s case, they had Jersey-issued passports that listed their nationality as “British Citizen”.

The airline officials claimed their system did not recognize the passports, and even after trying to liaise with various officials in the UK, Jersey and the Vietnamese embassy in London, they were not able to come to a resolution, resulting in the family missing the flight. Even though Andrzej was legally able to travel as a result of him not having passport issues, he opted to stay behind with his family.

Iwona also spent the last six months to the lead up to the trip to ensure their passports and other related documents were in order, and felt let down when the airline wouldn’t accept her and her daughter’s passports.

Following the incident, a spokesperson for Jersey’s External Relations Ministry told media that they are aware of the situation that unfolded, and reiterated that “British Citizens holding Jersey-issued passports are eligible for visa-free travel to China under the same conditions as those holding UK-issued passports.”

They also added that they are working with the Chinese embassy to ensure this information is passed on to all relevant airlines operating flights to China and beyond.

As for the £5,000 the family lost on the trip, they were not able to make a claim via their insurance provider as this particular scenario isn’t covered under their plan. As a result, they have been advised to file a civil suit against China Eastern Airlines to recuperate the funds spent for the trip.

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