...the EXCEPTION to requiring a visa is to be in transit ti a 3rd country.
So the administrators responsible for writing the rules hadn't thought of situations like that of the OP, where staff have to go by the rules and are unable to accommodate pax that have a rational argument AND bear the brunt of pax's valid complaint.
And as far as analogies go: its like obstructing a parent from picking up their kids from the entrance to a concert because the parent doesn't have a ticket to the concert.