At the risk of going off topic, but in the hope of putting this question to bed so we return to discussing Ryanair instead...
If you are travelling on an EU passport to an EU member state, you can use a passport which expires the following day and freedom of movement rules prohibit immigration refusing you entry to the country on arrival. (Yes there are a few exceptions but they either cover countries declaring a state of emergency or people who have fallen seriously foul of the law). There have been quite a few cases in recent years of airline checkin staff deciding that this is not allowed for some reason and refusing boarding - mainly because of an airline being potentially liable for a large fine for bringing passengers to a country without verifying they have appropriate passport/visa. Checkin / gate staff know if they let people through without valid paperwork, said checkin or gate person will be in trouble later so they sometimes are over cautious.
The usual conclusion is airline initially claiming they acted correctly followed by newspaper getting involved and airline then apologising and paying EU261 compensation. Consider that the fine for one illegal immigrant is about 40 times the cost of EU261 compensation and then think what you would do as newly hired checkin staff if you weren't sure and your boss wasn't around or able to advise.
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 31st Oct 2016 at 09:05.