Check-in staff denying boarding over claims of Schengen visa issues
Parents were scheduled to fly Mumbai-Munich-Budapest on Lufthansa.
They were not allowed to board the aircraft as their valid Schengen visa was issued thru the Swiss embassy! (Originally they were to fly into Zurich but because of some health issues they cancelled the swiss leg of their trip and choose the above route)
Can the airline do this?
Parents are senior citizens and have travelled extensively thru Europe.
The check in officer and supervisor were rude and threatened them that they would be deported if the airline would allow them to fly!
Can any action be taken against Lufthansa?
Parents were scheduled to fly Mumbai-Munich-Budapest on Lufthansa.
They were not allowed to board the aircraft as their valid Schengen visa was issued thru the Swiss embassy! (Originally they were to fly into Zurich but because of some health issues they cancelled the swiss leg of their trip and choose the above route)
Can the airline do this?
Parents are senior citizens and have travelled extensively thru Europe.
The check in officer and supervisor were rude and threatened them that they would be deported if the airline would allow them to fly!
Can any action be taken against Lufthansa?
what crap. My Schengen visa is thanks to the Dutch embassy and I've landed up in Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich and all over the place without any Questions asked.
They are beyond their right to do this. Did they try to get out of an overbooking scenario with this excuse?
Parents were scheduled to fly Mumbai-Munich-Budapest on Lufthansa.
They were not allowed to board the aircraft as their valid Schengen visa was issued thru the Swiss embassy! (Originally they were to fly into Zurich but because of some health issues they cancelled the swiss leg of their trip and choose the above route)
Can the airline do this?
Parents are senior citizens and have travelled extensively thru Europe.
The check in officer and supervisor were rude and threatened them that they would be deported if the airline would allow them to fly!
Can any action be taken against Lufthansa?
Well, I suppose the airline can do that; whether that's a correct decision is another matter entirely.
Switzerland is now fully part of the Schengen Zone, so a Swiss visa is no different from one issued by Germany or Norway.
The typical exceptions being a visa that was issued before Switzerland became Schengenised or a visa that has a restriction endorsed on it.
If it is a run of the mill Type C visa, then there should be no problem at all.
There might be something more in play, because the Swiss joined Schengen a while ago and no airline official can now claim "we didn't know". Perhaps the airline was trying to pull a fast one (albeit, something like this is more on the lines of retarded than cunning)?
Also, I think something may have got lost in translation. If indeed your parents' paperwork was not in order - and I'm not saying it was - then they wouldn't get into trouble (the would simply be sent back home). It's the airline that would be fined. So it wasn't Lufthansa threatening your parents, but rather Brussels threatening Lufthansa.
Programs: LH SEN, UA*G (1k again) + other *G, 9wPlat, Sixt Plat, *was* SQ QPP01 & SK EBS/EBG
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One of the reasons that this might have happened is now that LH is using the dimwitted GVK/Turkish ground handling characters.
Maybe if escalated to the LH management staff at airport they might have been able to override this problem, but they seem to be hiding behind those characters lately, unfortunately!
Programs: LH SEN, UA*G (1k again) + other *G, 9wPlat, Sixt Plat, *was* SQ QPP01 & SK EBS/EBG
Posts: 6,350
Quote:
Originally Posted by jasepl
Yep! I was going to say maybe LH are handled by the JetChildren now?
Actually, they are in a way!
Previously IT staff were manning the aerobridges, but now (well, about 12-14 months now) Jet uniformed staff are standing by upon deplaning or boarding!
Well, I suppose the airline can do that; whether that's a correct decision is another matter entirely.
Switzerland is now fully part of the Schengen Zone, so a Swiss visa is no different from one issued by Germany or Norway.
The typical exceptions being a visa that was issued before Switzerland became Schengenised or a visa that has a restriction endorsed on it.
If it is a run of the mill Type C visa, then there should be no problem at all.
There might be something more in play, because the Swiss joined Schengen a while ago and no airline official can now claim "we didn't know". Perhaps the airline was trying to pull a fast one (albeit, something like this is more on the lines of retarded than cunning)?
Also, I think something may have got lost in translation. If indeed your parents' paperwork was not in order - and I'm not saying it was - then they wouldn't get into trouble (the would simply be sent back home). It's the airline that would be fined. So it wasn't Lufthansa threatening your parents, but rather Brussels threatening Lufthansa.
It was a type C visa.
Paperwork was all ok.
The flight was overbooked. They were at the airport 4 hrs before dep
I had to rebook them on Emirates Mumbai-Dubai-Zurich-Budapest
They reached 12 hrs later but at least they were able to join their friends.
But the Lufthansa stand was ridiculous!
Can some action be taken?
Jet uniformed staff are standing by upon deplaning or boarding!
Ouch. I can picture it : "Welcome to Bombay sir ! How may I not be able to help you ?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperFlyBoy
Actually, they Skat, I just had to change the TRANSACTION (NOT login) password on ICICIin a way!
What was that about ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by divinedoc
It was a type C visa.
Paperwork was all ok.
The flight was overbooked. They were at the airport 4 hrs before dep
I had to rebook them on Emirates Mumbai-Dubai-Zurich-Budapest
They reached 12 hrs later but at least they were able to join their friends.
But the Lufthansa stand was ridiculous!
Can some action be taken?
Definitely, though someone else will be better able to tell you how, because I'm not familiar with Lufthansa at all. That said, my advice would be to clearly list out your understanding of the situation and how you feel Lufthansa were in the wrong (doesn't matter if they were JetChildren or THYChildren who messed up; they were acting as LH agents).
Yep! I was going to say maybe LH are handled by the JetChildren now?
When my father told them that they would rebook from Munich to Zurich and then to Budapest the LH supervisor insisted that they would need to "Stay in Zurich for atleast 2 days"! Can you folks believe this garbage!!
When my father told them that they would rebook from Munich to Zurich and then to Budapest the LH supervisor insisted that they would need to "Stay in Zurich for atleast 2 days"! Can you folks believe this garbage!!
Well, it's entirely possible the flights between Zurich and Budapest were sold out for the next two days (or that's what LH can claim if they want).
That's why I suggested you clearly list out your understanding of the situation and how you feel Lufthansa were in the wrong. Set it all up before you contact them.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by divinedoc
Parents were scheduled to fly Mumbai-Munich-Budapest on Lufthansa.
They were not allowed to board the aircraft as their valid Schengen visa was issued thru the Swiss embassy! (Originally they were to fly into Zurich but because of some health issues they cancelled the swiss leg of their trip and choose the above route)
Can the airline do this?
Parents are senior citizens and have travelled extensively thru Europe.
The check in officer and supervisor were rude and threatened them that they would be deported if the airline would allow them to fly!
Can any action be taken against Lufthansa?
The consulate of the main destination is responsible for issuing the uniform Schengen visa. If main destination cannot be determined, responsibility for issuing the visa lies with the Schengen state of first entry.
Parents were scheduled to fly Mumbai-Munich-Budapest on Lufthansa.
They were not allowed to board the aircraft as their valid Schengen visa was issued thru the Swiss embassy! (Originally they were to fly into Zurich but because of some health issues they cancelled the swiss leg of their trip and choose the above route)
Can the airline do this?
Parents are senior citizens and have travelled extensively thru Europe.
The check in officer and supervisor were rude and threatened them that they would be deported if the airline would allow them to fly!
Can any action be taken against Lufthansa?
That's a really bad one.
While I do know why Lufthansa in India might have played the "better safe than having to send those folks back on LH's cost" card, as their Schengen Visa might not have been 1000% correct, they had 0 reason to do so, as in reality, it would not have been a problem.
Probably the easiest way to have them flying would have been a fully refundable ticket BUD-ZRH, then there would have been no way of their boarding being denied.
Probably some bad experience from LH in the past with illegal immigration might have caused them going crazy on your parents without a real reason, as the Schengen visa they were holding was of course valid, even if not 1000% correct in this case. Even without an airline ticket to Switzerland, they could be claiming they were going to Zurich by train from Budapest (and that they booked the flight to Budapest because it was cheaper than to Zurich) - and therefore Switzerland being their end destination.
But I'm not a total expert, just telling you I've never had issues when friends who needed Schengen visas travelled to Germany (cheaper) on Swiss Schengen issued Visas and then took train to Switzerland.
When my father told them that they would rebook from Munich to Zurich and then to Budapest the LH supervisor insisted that they would need to "Stay in Zurich for atleast 2 days"! Can you folks believe this garbage!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by divinedoc
It was a type C visa.Paperwork was all ok.
The flight was overbooked. They were at the airport 4 hrs before dep
I had to rebook them on Emirates Mumbai-Dubai-Zurich-Budapest
They reached 12 hrs later but at least they were able to join their friends.
But the Lufthansa stand was ridiculous!
Can some action be taken?
IMHO, LH folks just took this as a reason since they were overbooked..
My mom had a Schengen C visa issued by Germany and she had taken the EK flight from CCU to PRG and without any problems..
Schengen rules dont stop you from landing in any other Schengen member country other than the visa issuing country and I have not seen any regulation to this effect..
What they have in place is an recommendation on how to choose the consulate / embassy in which to apply for the Schengen visa if you travelling to multiple countries.. BUT , plans can ( and do) change after a visa is issued by a particular country ( in your case Suisse)..
I would raise this with the concerned country office and send them an email too ..
