Jet2 and Ryanair issue warning to all Brits who still have a red passport

'A lovely bloo passport!'

For those of us old enough to remember, the classic burgundy passport was all many of us ever knew and was synonymous with growing up pre-Brexit.

Since then we have had the blue passport revolution, which was one of the many selling points for a split with the European Union, with many remembering Boris Johnson's famous "lovely bloo passport" one-liner.

Of course, as a result of Brexit, Brits' ease of travel has been greatly restricted with the same destinations on offer, but with less perks.

The UK left the EU almost five years ago, meaning more rigorous passport checks, a separate queue, and a 90-day limit on stays without a visa.

In recent years, the old red variant has been becoming increasingly rare as we approach the half decade mark of the blue passport with many red passports nearing their expiry dates.

This has led to a warning being issued by airlines to many holders who may not realise that their passport could be invalid when using it on their next escapade.

Jet2, Ryanair, British Airways and easyJet have all issued warnings for Brits with red passports to check their expiry date before they travel.

EasyJet said on their website: "Please check your passport's expiry and issue date before you travel. If you're a UK passport holder travelling to the EU (except Ireland), or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican City or Switzerland, your passport will need to meet the following criteria:

"It must be no more than 10 years' old on the date of travel to the EU or above countries.

"It must be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to depart from the EU or above countries*

"Many countries have rules around the required amount of time remaining on them before expiration, with some requiring three months, others six."

And, when you think about it, it makes sense too.

If you, for whatever reason, get stuck or held up in a country for a period of time that exceeds your passport's validity, then it makes it very hard to get home while also causing a headache for that nation's bureaucrats.

In all Schengen Area countries, the requirement is at least three months remaining validity on a traveller's passport from the planned departure date.

For most other countries outside of Europe this period extends to six months from the date of departure.

The odd one out is Costa Rica who require Britons to have just one day’s validity from the day of their departure.

The non-European nations that permit a three month period are: British Virgin Islands, Cuba, French Polynesia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Morocco, New Zealand, Réunion, South Korea and Uzbekistan.

Any further advice on travel information can be found on the Gov.uk website.