BA Denied Boarding to Passenger With a Valid Passport

Despite a current passport, Toby Keen was refused boarding on a recent BA flight. The carrier initially said that he failed to carry proper documentation but then retracted their views.

There’s nothing quite like adding insult to injury, but it seems that British Airways (BA) managed to do just that when it wrongly prevented a passenger from boarding a flight and then blamed him for not carrying the correct documentation.

On the last weekend in August, Toby Keen had been booked to fly from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Nice for a wedding along with the rest of his family. Keen, along with his wife and daughters, were able to check into their flights online, but he was informed upon arrival at BA’s bag drop desk that he would be unable to board because his passport would expire in less than three months.

Mr. Keen told the Independent that, “When I challenged the agent, he blamed French immigration and said that BA would be fined £25,000 ($30,442) if he let me fly.”

He then told his family to continue their journey so that he could attempt to resolve the matter.

After an unfruitful call to the advice line of Britain’s Passport Office, Mr. Keen went to the agency in-person and managed to get a new passport within hours. As he was waiting, Mr. Keen also re-booked his flight to France.

Upon his return to Britain, Mr. Keen made contact with British Airways’ Customer Care team regarding his experience.

He was then told by an agent that, “As the passport you attempted to travel with was the old style [non-biometric], it must be valid for three months beyond the period of intended stay…As you traveled with the old style passport and it wasn’t valid for three months after your stay in Nice, we’re unable to accept your claim.”

However, a spokesperson for BA has since said “This appears to have been a one-off mistake made by a member of staff and then accidentally and wrongly reiterated.”

The carrier added that it was eager to resolve the situation.

Mr. Keen responded by saying that, “I’m disappointed that a company that I used when I could and would champion to others, felt it was OK to treat their customers with such disregard.”

[Photo: British Airways]