Grandmother who lost her passport is held in immigration for five days

EXCLUSIVE British grandmother-of-five was held in Spanish immigration for five days without her phone, belongings or change of clothes – because her passport had dropped out of her hand luggage on the plane

• Tracy Mckellar, live-in carer from The Wirral, was on a visit to her house in Spain
• Border control had told her that she needed to wait there for the next flight back
• They had taken her phone and baggage – leaving without even change of clothes 

A British grandmother-of-five was held in Spanish immigration without her phone, belongings or a change of clothes for five days – because her passport had dropped out of her hand luggage on the plane.

Tracy Mckellar, a live-in carer from The Wirral, was on her fortnightly visit to her house in Spain on Saturday May 20 when she realised what had happened. 

The 53-year-old rushed back to try and find it – but after the horror ordeal she was led to a windowless room.

Border control in Madrid had told her that she needed to wait there for the next flight back to the airport where she started her journey in Liverpool – but there wouldn’t be one for five days.

They had taken her phone and her baggage – leaving her without even a change of clothes until she returned this Wednesday.

Border control told Tracy Mckellar (pictured) that she needed to wait there for the next flight back to the airport where she started her journey – but there wouldn’t be one for five days 

Tracy Mckellar, a live-in carer from The Wirral, was on her fortnightly visit to her house in La Coronada in Extremadura, Spain (pictured) on Saturday May 20 when she realised what had happened

Because she was heading to her home in La Coronada, in the Extremadura province of western Spain, she had packed light and had to wash her clothes every night and hang them up to dry for the next day. Pictured: File image of Ryanair flight

She says the nightmare is the sort of mistake that could ‘happen to anyone’.

Tracy said: ‘When I got to border control, I realised that my passport – which I’d had to board the plane – must have fallen out of my handluggage. I ran to customer services to ask them to search the plane but they were in no hurry to look. 

‘I was worried that the plane would take off with my passport still in the plane but they didn’t seem to care.’

After five hours trying to get hold of her passport, Tracy claims she was led to an immigration room by police and explained what had happened.

While she was there, they took her handluggage and she only just had time to message her daughter to tell her what had happened before her phone was taken too.

Ryanair say they searched for her passport on the plane, but could not find it. 

She continued: ‘The border control said that as I am no longer a citizen of the EU, they could only help me so much. 

‘They could give me documentation to fly back to the UK but I had to fly back via the same carrier and to the same airport – but the next flight was on Weds.

‘I begged them to let me fly to ANY airport at all but they wouldn’t let me. I was given a social worker who phoned the British consulate but they said they couldn’t do anything because “it was the weekend”. I was stunned.’

After five hours trying to get hold of her passport, Tracy claims she was led to an immigration room by police and explained what had happened. Pictured: Tracy Mckellar with her mum Anne Mckellar, 72

Counting down the hours, she even tried teaching English to her fellows in the cramped room. Pictured: The Iglesia Parroquial de San Bartolomé in La Coronada

She was taken away to a windowless room with 30 others – in a horrible situation she was kept in as she waited for her plane to return her home.

Counting down the hours, she even tried teaching English to her fellows in the cramped room. 

Because she was heading to her home in La Coronada, in the Extremadura province of western Spain, she had packed light and had to wash her clothes every night and hang them up to dry for the next day.

Tracy continued: ‘The border control led me to a windowless room – about the size of two classrooms – with around 30 other people in there, men and women, and left me there for five days until my next flight arrived.

‘It was very distressing at first but I knew there was nothing I could do so I remained as calm as possible. But you could see how other people were really upset. 

‘There were lots of tears and one man got so angry that three police officers had to calm him down.

‘No one else spoke any English. At one point a young man who was giving me the creeps came up to me as I lay on my bunk and put his face near mine and said: “Ola! Are you sleeping well!”

‘I swore at him and told the social worker who was in the room to keep him away from me.

‘There were showers and toilets and they gave us meals but for five days I couldn’t go anywhere. 

While she was there, they took her handluggage and she only just had time to message her daughter to tell her what had happened before her phone was taken too. Pictured: Tracy Mckellar and daughter Jordyn Macmahon, 33

‘The television was broken, I had one book to read and the social worker gave me one other book – about a woman in jail!

‘I couldn’t change my clothes and had to wash what I could and hang it on the end of my bunk bed.’

Finally getting home on Wednesday, Tracy was left exhausted – lying down on her daughter’s lawn as she got back, falling asleep for two hours.

She was escorted to the plane and still has not got her passport back. 

She said: ‘When I was finally allowed to leave on Wednesday, I was accompanied to the flight by the police and the pilot had to agree to take me back. It was so humiliating.

‘But it was the most horrible experience and I just want to warn anyone else that they must check that they have their passport on them when they leave the plane. It was such an easy thing to do and it could happen to anyone.’

A spokesman for Ryanair said: ‘The crew on this flight from Liverpool to Madrid searched the aircraft for this passenger’s lost passport, but it was not there.

‘Any passenger travelling to Spain from a country outside the Schengen area must go through Passport Control, which is managed by the local authorities. 

‘While we regret this passenger’s circumstance, it is beyond our control and is now a matter for the local Spanish authorities.’

The Spanish Civil Guard have been contacted for comment. 

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