knav2013

Is Aeroflot a good airline to fly with? Reason I ask is, a U.S couple (U.S citizens of Indian appearance) flying from India to U.S. through Moscow was deported back to India because of bad weather in U.S.

The passengers captured the incident with the Aeroflot groundstaff on video.

Aeroflot Deports US Citizens To India Because Of How They Look - One Mile at a Time

https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea...-india-racism/

Airline Allegedly Sends Couple Back To India Despite Being American

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a8274406.html


Ground staff member can be clearly heard saying "please..I'm talking about Indian passengers".

This is really unprofessional. Notice how he says it while holding the passenger's U.S passport high-up in the air. Then he slams that same passport on the desk and storms off, without any explanation.

A U.S. embassy official had tried to speak to Aeroflot, but they had refused to speak to him. So, my question is, if you are non-Caucasian (non-white) person should you book with this airline? Actually, even if you are Caucasian would you feel comfortable flying this airline?

Aquitania

By all means, Aeroflot is one of the better airlines to travel with today.

Force majeur situations can happen to any airline, and in that particular instance Aeroflot was simply following the Russian immigration rules where passengers without a valid transit visa may not stay at SVO for longer than 24 hours. As a matter of fact, the same rule applies at LHR where the airport closes all together during the night - and those who find themselves stuck without a transit UK visa are sent back to their point of origin, if they cannot continue their journey to the destination for whatever reason.

In the past, there were similar reports about Air France and Emirates giving supposedly inferior treatment to passengers of Indian appearance as well.

Air India might be the safest non-stop option between India and the United States for someone who is too worried about these matters.

Lwnemesis

I am of Caucasian descent and had recently traveled from JFK to EVN and back via Moscow on Aeroflot. Nothing but good service. Didn't have any issues and I only spoke English to everyone. I am also a US citizen.

knav2013

Unfortunately, the (video) evidence suggests the contrary.
I doubt Russian immigration rules stipulate that White passengers can be treated differently to those of Indian appearance. A couple of the links I posted say "But the airline is alleged to have offered alternative connections to the US to white Americans who had been on the same flight."

Aeroflot is unlikely to admit to this. It would seem they were shooting themselves in the foot if they did. It'll be just like admitting to treating this couple differently due to their appearance. However, if a Caucasian passenger was to come forward and prove that he/she was offered alternative connections (not to the point of origin) it would turn out worse for Aeroflot.

LHR is open 24 hours a day. There are restrictions on the number of flights and type of aircraft during night time through. Have a look at:
https://www.heathrow.com/noise/heath.../night-flights
Do you mind posting some links to corroborate this. Particularly the fact that were sent back to the point of origin from UK.
Again, it would be useful to see these reports in order to gauge their relevance.
According to the news reports I posted in the OP, there are many people who are more than slightly upset by the handling of the situation by Aeroflot.

knav2013

There were no reports of Caucasian passengers encountering any issues. Your experience supports this.

knav2013

I wasn't able to locate that post. Was she an Indian Woman?

Not always. It happens to black americans quite often. https://www.theroot.com/how-american...-up-1795045431

Even when travelling with a white friend. That's just one example.

Here's another about black and muslim passengers.

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-po...ngers-out-hand

Nigerian passengers also expereince prejudice and discrimination:

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-a8133011.html

Nigerian air travelers face discriminatory baggage charges - BusinessDay : News you can trust : BusinessDay : News you can trust

More Nigerians Narrate Horrifying, Discriminatory, Exploitative Experience With @Emirates Airlines - NewsRescue.com

The OP of that post say's 'The Pakistanis were sent packing to the Y-terminal! .."

No mention of Indians in the OP itself.

This kind of thing is never a one off, usually it's been going on for a while and suddenly it hits a breaking point. That's what we've seen. It'll be silly to convince yourself that it's one off and take the plunge when you've seen all the warnings with your own eyes.

Aquitania

So don’t fly Aeroflot. Matter closed and I hope there are no further political debates you were trying to spark here.