Urgent advice having been denied boarding
May 10, 2021, 4:49 am
#46
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
For additional background, both BA and AA have in recent months been subject to substantial fines from government authorities for not being strict enough over checking entry requirements, such that both have issued directives to frontline staff to be more diligent (and in a few cases, flights have even been delayed as a result). Given this, I can entirely understand why the airline insisted that the Israeli government’s instructions be followed, particularly since the letter he held clearly stated a test was still required.
Hopefully BA will be able to reinstate the ticket, but if they do it will be entirely based on goodwill, not because OP has any right to it.
Hopefully BA will be able to reinstate the ticket, but if they do it will be entirely based on goodwill, not because OP has any right to it.
May 10, 2021, 7:16 am
#47
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold
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This is getting a bit personal - my original post was relating to how to handle BA - but I'm quite happy to clarify that I am not Jewish. I'm attending a very major church-related event. I have the blessing of good friends in the Jewish community in Chicago who recognize that it would be a very good thing for me to be at this event and have helped make it possible, but I'm pretty WASP-y (in many ways, so people tell me!).
The local consul was bemused by this, and didn't know that the requirement was on the Min of Health website, and said she's not heard of anyone else having this problem, and blamed it strongly on AA! She said if I were flying United or Delta I'd have been fine (as my friend/colleague's experience does seem to suggest!).
Meanwhile, the London office of the GGL line was at least very appreciative of my woeful saga. They initially said that it was a CR matter now, as the ticket was effectively dead. In gentle (very gentle by my waspish standard!) tones I explained how I had always found the folk on the GGL line to be far more understanding and capable than CR folk (utterly true - even fairly straight forward service recovery issues can result in misread documentation, etc, and I've never found any consistency of staff, etc), and he's managed to escalate this up several notches, and promised me a call back on Monday. I do now at least feel I have been heard. And I have to say that I continue to be annoyed both at the attitude shown to me at ORD yesterday, and the fact that AA's own pre-flight information and links on its website about going to Israel do not mention the passport number on the COVID test. It really does seem beyond inappropriate to deny someone boarding when the information that your own airline provides to the public differs from that relied on by the staff.
Oh, and I found a COVID test company in Chicago that has happily put my passport number on a new test certificate... .for a fee of eye-watering size!
The local consul was bemused by this, and didn't know that the requirement was on the Min of Health website, and said she's not heard of anyone else having this problem, and blamed it strongly on AA! She said if I were flying United or Delta I'd have been fine (as my friend/colleague's experience does seem to suggest!).
Meanwhile, the London office of the GGL line was at least very appreciative of my woeful saga. They initially said that it was a CR matter now, as the ticket was effectively dead. In gentle (very gentle by my waspish standard!) tones I explained how I had always found the folk on the GGL line to be far more understanding and capable than CR folk (utterly true - even fairly straight forward service recovery issues can result in misread documentation, etc, and I've never found any consistency of staff, etc), and he's managed to escalate this up several notches, and promised me a call back on Monday. I do now at least feel I have been heard. And I have to say that I continue to be annoyed both at the attitude shown to me at ORD yesterday, and the fact that AA's own pre-flight information and links on its website about going to Israel do not mention the passport number on the COVID test. It really does seem beyond inappropriate to deny someone boarding when the information that your own airline provides to the public differs from that relied on by the staff.
Oh, and I found a COVID test company in Chicago that has happily put my passport number on a new test certificate... .for a fee of eye-watering size!
Individual airlines have no time or staff to update the detailed changes in health entry regulation of over a 100 countries. And they keep changing on a daily basis. TIMATIC is the central source used by all airlines and is immediately updated. https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php shows the ID/passport requirement for Israel.
Quite a few other countries have similar requirement to reduce the risk of faked test results.
As everyone suggested a goodwill gesture by BA.is your hope. Even Though they might have to argue with AA about the no-show "compensation".
May 10, 2021, 1:21 pm
#48
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
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Entry requirements of this nature is absolutely not in the remit of a consul. It does not surprise me at all (the opposite would have). There is a department for this, but it is nowhere near the consul's office.
Jun 11, 2021, 2:40 pm
#49
Original Poster
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Location: York, UK
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Well, it took a while, but when I related this story to BA by email, the GGL team got back to me in 24 hours with the booking turned into an FTV at full value, plus an apology for the lack of helpfulness I'd received on the part of AA ground staff at ORD and the initial response by phone from the GGL line.