Recent weeks have seen media reports of passengers being mistakenly denied boarding by airlines who said their passports were not valid for travel to EU and Schengen area countries.

The FCDO has now moved to try to clarify these validity rules which apply to all EU countries, apart from Ireland. They also apply for travel to Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City.

It advises that UK travellers must follow Schengen area passport requirements and check that their passport meets these rules:

* Passports must be issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (date of issue)

* Passports must be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave (expiry date)

The FCDO added: “You must check your passport meets these requirements before you travel. If your passport was issued before 1 October 2018, extra months may have been added to its expiry date.”