Brit dad’s Ryanair flight mishap sees him banged up abroad for five nights

A dad's "romantic holiday" plans were thrown into disarray after he was thrown into a cell Croatia for boarding his flight using his stepdaughter's passport accidentally.

David Chadwick, 57, was looking forward to a nice break away when he boarded a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Croatia for a five-night holiday with his wife Alison, 46.

However, when border guards stopped him after landing at Zagreb Airport, David made the shocking discovery that he had brought his 21-year-old stepdaughter's passport by mistake.

The dad has slammed Ryanair – who admit they incorrectly allowed him on board – after he requested help from his cell, saying he hasn't heard from the airline since finally returning home on April 28.

Senior international clinical manager David, who lives in England with his wife Alison and stepdaughter Katherine, said: "I was simply gutted and embarrassed at the same time.

"I pride myself in never having the wrong things in hand luggage and always having the correct documentation, so I couldn't believe it had happened. I think our faces said it all.

"I accept it's half my fault for picking up the wrong passport, but you'd think that post 9/11, I wouldn't have been able to board a plane with a female name and photo of my daughter on!

"When I finally got back to the UK, the border force at Manchester Airport couldn't believe I got to Croatia with the wrong passport. The most perplexed was the Zagreb UK consulate as to how I'd managed to get to Croatia in the first place."

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After spending the duration of his holiday in a cell, David was escorted onto his original flight home and taken by border officials at Manchester Airport, who confirmed his identification based on photos of his passport and driving licence on his phone and let him go home.

The problem started when David opened the drawer of the coffee table in their living room on the morning of their flight on April 24, and grabbed the two passports inside without checking them, when his own document was in his work bag elsewhere.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "This passenger was detained by Croatian authorities on arrival to Zagreb, following his flight from Manchester (Apr 24) for failing to travel with his own passport.

"It is each passenger's responsibility to ensure they have a correct and valid passport for travel.

"Our airport handling agents incorrectly allowed this passenger to board and we have liaised with our handling agents in Manchester to ensure this error does not recur."

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