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EasyJet Grounds London Couple Over E-Visa Mix-Up

Flyers from numerous countries bound for Turkey can expedite their entry by applying and paying for an e-Visa online and bringing it with them to the airport. When one British couple got their e-visa and provided copies from their smartphones, easyJet denied them boarding – cutting into their 10-day vacation.

A British couple is speaking out against easyJet after the airline denied them boarding on a flight to Turkey, resulting in their loss of three days of vacation. The Independent reports the airline admitted fault for the incident, which was attributed to bad advice from a third-party document verification system.

The couple, who chose to go by only their initials in the newspaper, said they applied for their e-visa prior to their trip. Both the British Foreign Office and the Turkish Electronic Visa Application System note on their websites flyers could either print out their e-visa and bring it to the airport, or provide the e-visa from their smartphone. In this situation, the couple downloaded their visas to their phones to show at the ticket counter.

But when they arrived for their flight on easyJet, gate agents wouldn’t allow them on the aircraft. Instead, employees took the advice of their document verification service, Traveldoc, which advised only printed documents would be allowed for a flight to Turkey. Because of the decision, the flyers lost one-third of their vacation and were forced to rebook their trip for a later date.

“It has left us traumatized,” one of the flyers told The Independent. “Our Easter holiday has been ruined and we are considerably out of pocket.”

In a statement to the newspaper, easyJet admitted to their mistake, noting they would work with Traveldoc to update their policies. The airline is required to pay the couple nearly $1,000 in compensation, along with reimbursement for expenses attached to the mistake.

This incident is not the first time easyJet has erred against their passengers. In March, a BBC investigation revealed easyJet still had several outstanding delay compensation judgments against them, forcing bailiffs to collect payments on behalf of flyers.

[Photo: Shutterstock]

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5 Comments
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flyerCO August 24, 2018

@FlyingNone No one is being lazy. Same issue can arise if the printout gets lost/gets wet/gets whatever. Fact is most people want less paper, and most countries are moving to less and less, if any at all paper for travel.

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FlyingNone April 4, 2018

I honestly don't feel sorry for people who can't function without their iPhones. What if your phone is destroyed or just goes dead at the most inopportune time ? Right, stop being so lazy and just print out everything you need !!

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redrob April 3, 2018

So the passengers were left "traumatized" by the situation? God forbid they ever suffer a real life-changing event...

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DarkHelmetII April 3, 2018

sucks I know but lessons learned for myself (as someone just reading this story) on this ... reinforces value of bringing hardcopy printouts for travel-related documentation

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scottishpoet April 3, 2018

traumatized?