Originally Posted by
cauchy
The OP's case might well turn on the specific wording of Qatar's COVID rules. IF the rule was phrased as "no entry for non-Qatari nationals/residents...but this does not affect passengers who remain airside / don't leave the airport" then the OP could have a case. Equally, if the rules were set out as "customers in transit to a third country are allowed airside" then the OP is screwed as there are only 2 countries involved in his trip. Perhaps the OP can contact the Qatari embassy and see if they have a copy of the rules?
You might think the OP has a weak case, but he has acted in good faith and the outcome here could be quite harsh. He deserves some sympathy.
It's a bit late contacting them.now. With hindsight perhaps they should have checked before travel - it could have saved a lot of Avios. Unfortunately the onus is on the passenger to ensure they hold the correct documents for the journey and meet the requirements in order to travel. This scenario is exactly the reason why you shouldn't assume without properly checking and keeping in mind that these requirements can change without much in the way of notice. It's regrettable but I fail to see how the responsibility can lie with anyone other than the OP on this occasion. It will also be interesting to understand on what grounds they feel they have cause for complaint to BA (ticket provider) in order for an Avios refund to be made. Just because they're not getting the responses they would like to hear doesn't mean there's a complaint to be made that justifies the kind of service recovery they're expecting/hoping for.
Last edited by 1Aturnleft; Nov 29, 2020 at 5:21 pm