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A Glasgow household is looking for virtually £11,000 in compensation after a denial of boarding as a result of an issue with a scribble on a passport, that means they missed their flight to India.
Gunasekaran Kumar, 37, was travelling with spouse Anita Gunasekaran and two daughters to Chennai to see Anita’s sick father forward of surgical procedure.
Nonetheless, the household declare that they’ve been left in bank card debt after shopping for one other set of tickets on high of their preliminary £2,080 spend after being marked as ‘no exhibits’ regardless of being one of many first events to reach.
The household have been flying with Qatar Airways from Edinburgh to Chennai, India. Nonetheless, as soon as they arrived on the check-in desk, a problem with Ms Gunasekaran’s Indian passport meant she was instructed she wouldn’t have the ability to journey.
Test-in workers reportedly took the passport to talk with immigration officers in Chennai, and after they returned, confirmed that she couldn’t board the flight.
“After checking the entire passports, they claimed that my spouse’s passport was broken as a result of it had been scribbled on by my daughter,” Mr Kumar instructed GlasgowLive.
“We had all the pieces, our photograph ID, proof, all the pieces. It was simply a few scribbles.”
The UK House Workplace says a passport is taken into account broken and must be changed should you can not learn particulars, pages are ripped or lacking, there are holes in it, the quilt is coming away or if there are stains on it, comparable to ink or water injury.
The Indian authorities advises that folks can re-apply for a brand new passport if their booklet is broken, even when the passport quantity is legible, the identify is legible and the photograph is undamaged.
The Indian Embassy in London and Edinburgh each supply outsourced providers to switch misplaced, stolen or broken passports, irrespective of the expiry date.
Mr Kumar claimed to the publication that he spoke with immigration officers in India himself and was ultimately instructed his spouse could be cleared to journey so long as she utilized for a brand new passport on her return to the UK.
He claimed that Qatar Airways workers continued to refuse check-in to the flight, even after Mr Kumar prompt simply himself and his two younger daughters may very well be checked in as an alternative.
The household declare they have been later instructed that Mrs Gunasekaran’s passport had been cleared, though it’s unclear by who, and the household might e book tickets on the following flight with Qatar Airways on the cellphone.
Nonetheless, as soon as Mr Kumar referred to as the airline up, he was instructed the household had been registered as a ‘no present’ for the flight, that means they must pay £4,000 to rebook tickets.
“We then booked tickets with Emirates and flew to Chennai and again with no issues on the identical passport,” Mr Kumar mentioned.
The household raised a grievance with Qatar Airways and so they have been supplied compensation for Mrs Gunasekaran’s ticket in addition to a refund for the opposite three tickets.
But, Mr Kumar refused this and mentioned their journey was “spoiled as a result of ignorance” and is looking for compensation amounting to £10,969 from Qatar Airways together with prices of the tickets, compensation for lacking the flight, reimbursement for the Emirates tickets in addition to curiosity.
A Qatar Airways spokesperson instructed The Impartial: “Qatar Airways is sorry to listen to in regards to the passenger’s expertise and recognise the inconvenience brought about. Our buyer care crew has been in contact with the client”
Broken passports stopping journey is a standard prevalence. In April, Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison was denied boarding an easyJet flight as a result of her canine chewing part of it.
EasyJet mentioned they “can not permit any passenger to journey on their deliberate flight with documentation broken to such a level that its authenticity is introduced into query”.
Nonetheless, what airways take into account ‘broken’ can differ between them. In June, a holidaymaker was blocked from boarding a Tui flight to Cancun due to a “slight mark” on her passport, but when she appeared for one more flight with British Airways, she was shocked to search out that that they had no subject together with her passport, and let her fly.
For extra journey information and recommendation, take heed to Simon Calder’s podcast
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The Impartial
#Daughters #doodles #passport #led #household #lacking #Qatar #Airways #flight #India
Amelia Neath , 2024-12-13 13:07:00
