Brit 'devastated' after being kicked out of holiday hotspot for his face tattoos

Jordan Howman, 34, said his £3,000 holiday was ruined when he was pulled aside at Dubai Airport and had his passport confiscated before being sent back to the UK - for having face tattoos
A Brit said he was left "devastated" after he was kicked out of Dubai and forced to ditch his dream £3,000 holiday because of his face tattoos.
Jordan Howman, 34, landed at Dubai International Airport last Wednesday for a dream week-long holiday with his fiancée Theresa, 38, and daughter Kaic, 16, when immigration officers took him aside and ended up confiscating his passport. The 34-year-old plasterer, from Crewe, said he had "worked his ass off" to save up for the five day trip and had hoped to see the United Arab Emirates, which he called his "favourite country in the world".
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Jordan claimed that his dream holiday ended at the airport as after six hours of being held, immigration officers sent him packing "because of his face tattoos".
The 34-year-old got the geometric cubes tattooed on his face around eight or nine years ago alongside words like 'blessed', 'family' and 'crazy life' and said it has never caused problems during his previous two visits to Dubai, he says.
Jordan said: "My missus has been crying her eyes out. It has absolutely devastated me. I feel like I've been massively discriminated against. There's no law against face tattoos - there's nothing like that.
"I'm a lovely lad, I get on with anyone. It's made me feel absolutely rubbish. I'm not allowed in a country because of the way I look. It's properly, massively affected me. It was my favourite country, but this has absolutely ruined it. Now I'll never go again. I've lost all of my money because of a pattern on my face."
The UAE has become a popular spot for wealthy British expats and holidaymakers seeking sunshine but the emirates' strict social rules has proved to be a problem for many foreign visitors.
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Jordan's Emirates airline flight landed at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday, June 11, morning at 7.30am. He said: "It was my third trip to Dubai. I'd had no problems all the other times. But this time, as we got in, I scanned my passport and was just about to go through security when an airport worker pulled us aside.
"We were about to put our hand luggage on the conveyor belt when the man said: 'Follow me'." After taking Mr Howman aside, the man allegedly asked if he'd had his passport stamped, before taking it from him. Jordan said: "Then he snatched my passport out of my hand.
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"There had been nowhere to stamp it - we'd used the electronic gates. It was just an excuse to get the passport out of my hand." After being held in a waiting room for over four hours, the Brit was transferred to immigration at around 12am, he said. By this time, his family had reached their five star Anantara hotel.
He called his partner and she got a taxi to the airport but he said "they wouldn't let me see her" and she got a taxi back to the hotel, costing a total of £250. Jordan said he was not given his passport back for some time which was "terrifying".
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He said: "A woman came and took me upstairs to immigration, where they said: 'He's not coming in because of his face tattoos - you're not coming in because of the way you look.' One of the staff behind the desk said a more senior immigration officer made the decision, saying I was not to enter Dubai and that I must leave the country immediately."
At 2.30pm, Mr Howman was put on another Emirates flight heading back to the UK. He said: "They sent me on a flight back to Manchester. It was only when I landed that I got my passport back. Friday morning was the first time I got to see my daughter, over Facetime."
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai have been approached for comment. Dubai Airports was also contacted for comment.

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