Strict rules on travelling to South Africa with children are still catching out Britons, with an average of 10 families denied boarding each day at Heathrow.

Since June, parents travelling with a child under 18 years old have been required to produce their full unabridged birth certificate showing the names of both parents. Single parents need to produce both a birth certificate and written consent from the non-travelling parent – or if that parent is deceased, a death certificate.

But with December representing one of the busiest months of the year for travel to South Africa, dozens of families are falling foul of the rules and having their holidays ruined, The Independent reports .

The newspaper spoke to Grant Hughes, an account manager from Suffolk, who was booked to fly from Heathrow to Durban, via Addis Ababa. Mr Hughes, 45, was travelling with his partner and two children, aged 11 and 15, but his carrier Ethiopian Airlines, which he claims did not inform them that birth certificates were necessary, turned them away at the airport.

The pound has strengthened against the rand in recent months Photo: AP/FOTOLIA

“I would have accepted it had it just been me who had made an oversight,” said Mr Hughes, who was forced to spend £6,500 on new tickets. “However we were told that this is a regular occurrence and roughly 10 families a night are being turned away due to this across various airlines.”

The rules were introduced in an effort to tackle child trafficking, but have faced stinging criticism from travellers and tour operators.

“It’s an appalling way to behave when we should be doing everything to foster tourism” David Frost, chief executive of the Southern African Tourism Services Association

Such has been the outcry that last month authorities announced plans to relax the new regulations. However, no date has yet been given for the changes – a state of limbo which is likely to add to the confusion for those travelling with children.

David Frost, chief executive of the Southern African Tourism Services Association, said that between 10 and 20 people on an average long-haul flight to South Africa were being denied boarding due to the rules.

Between 10 and 20 people on every long-haul flight to South Africa are being denied boarding Photo: AP/FOTOLIA

“It’s an appalling way to behave when we should be doing everything to foster tourism,” he added. “With the rand so favourable, we should have been growing at double digits, but out of the UK we have been basically flat.”

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Airlines say they do everything they can to inform passengers about the regulations. British Airways, for example, emails all those who have travelled to South Africa in the past year, as well as those with existing bookings.

Those who book with online travel agents, for airlines that do not fly direct – such as Mr Hughes – make up the majority of denied-boarding cases, according to The Independent.