Denied Boarding DOH-DEL-DOH-LAX
Apr 22, 2019, 9:59 am
#16
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
rookie mistake. live and learn.
OP hasn't commented on what ticket he was on (assumed to be separate tickets to and from DEL). Please enlighten us on your planning for this.
OP hasn't commented on what ticket he was on (assumed to be separate tickets to and from DEL). Please enlighten us on your planning for this.
Apr 23, 2019, 8:16 am
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 46
Thank you all for you comments.
The DOH-DEL-DOH-LAX was one ticket purchased from Qatar Airways.
I asked before departure the India visa processing agency, my company visa processing agency, and they all said that I did not need visa for this route and I have it in writing, not that it matters.
It was a Business class ticket.
Even without luggage , they were not willing to let me fly.
Live and learn, as the saying goes.
The DOH-DEL-DOH-LAX was one ticket purchased from Qatar Airways.
I asked before departure the India visa processing agency, my company visa processing agency, and they all said that I did not need visa for this route and I have it in writing, not that it matters.
It was a Business class ticket.
Even without luggage , they were not willing to let me fly.
Live and learn, as the saying goes.
Apr 23, 2019, 9:17 am
#18
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 2,422
Did you book this over the phone? QR's website cannot price it up when I tried.
They should have allowed you to board to board if you were happy to proceed without checked bags as long as you met the MCT and entry requirements for DEL. As stated already, you cannot tag a piece of luggage through the same station twice - this is a limitation of the tagging system we have today and I can't see that changing in a hurry.
The fact that you have a piece of paper that says you do not need a visa is immaterial if TIMATIC (IATA) disagrees. No front-line airline employee is going to allow you to board if the computer "says no".
They should have allowed you to board to board if you were happy to proceed without checked bags as long as you met the MCT and entry requirements for DEL. As stated already, you cannot tag a piece of luggage through the same station twice - this is a limitation of the tagging system we have today and I can't see that changing in a hurry.
The fact that you have a piece of paper that says you do not need a visa is immaterial if TIMATIC (IATA) disagrees. No front-line airline employee is going to allow you to board if the computer "says no".
Apr 24, 2019, 8:24 am
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 46
The whole ticket with this particular routing was booked on Qatar Airline website. It stated with LAX-DOH then the return DOH-DEL-DOH-LAX. There were no separate reservations.Should they have asked me at LAX about India visa? I stayed 6 days on DOH , plenty of time to apply for one.They allowed the route with less then 2 hours in Delhi , and listed 2 luggage for each leg of the the trip. I offered to fly without luggage but they still said NO.
I leaned an expensive lesson with this trip, always get a visa even if you are told you do not need one
, just in case.
I leaned an expensive lesson with this trip, always get a visa even if you are told you do not need one
, just in case.
Apr 24, 2019, 8:48 am
#20
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
So sounds to me like you purchased as LAX-DEL return fare with a stopover in DOH, with the expectation that DOH was actually your destination, when in reality it was DEL. As DEL is the fare break point and tagging luggage back through the origin airport seems unusual this has a lot of red flags. That being said, I'd have thought they'd permit you to travel without luggage at least
Apr 24, 2019, 5:49 pm
#21
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,127
Geeky but true fact is that a turnround, going back to where you came from, doesn't correspond with the industry definition of transfer/connecting flight, or the one immigration folk go by. You can get away with it, but you've got to hope your agent isn't a stickler or a jobsworth and/or didn't get out of bed on the wrong side. OP simply wasn't connecting in the "legal" sense.
This is important from the point of view of the Doha check-in. The OP needed an Indian visa if the first sector was on a separate ticket. But even if he'd had one, the second problem, the checked baggage, would have been insurmountable.
This is important from the point of view of the Doha check-in. The OP needed an Indian visa if the first sector was on a separate ticket. But even if he'd had one, the second problem, the checked baggage, would have been insurmountable.
As some others have said upthread, a turnaround to the same country as departure does not count as a "transit" for the purposes of TWOV, even if you do not intend to leave the terminal. That means you need a normal visa (or waiver) which allows you to actually enter India.
IIRC, it is not an airline's role to advise passengers of visa requirements for a ticket: their responsible is to the country to which the passenger is travelling, else they are fined / have to bear the costs to return the 'unauthorised' passenger.
Last edited by crackjack; Apr 25, 2019 at 9:43 am
