Wrongly denied boarding for transit visa.
Dec 9, 2018, 11:28 pm
#1
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Wrongly denied boarding for transit visa.
While travelling to USA (Istanbul--Frankfurt-USA), at Istanbul, I had a valid US visa and i was issued a boarding pass but i was not allowed to board the plane citing reason that i did not had a transit visa for Germany. However, people who have valid USA visa do not require a transit visa.
I was forced to buy a very expensive ticket for direct flight to USA which costed me alot. What should i do???
I was forced to buy a very expensive ticket for direct flight to USA which costed me alot. What should i do???
Dec 10, 2018, 2:23 am
#2
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While travelling to USA (Istanbul--Frankfurt-USA), at Istanbul, I had a valid US visa and i was issued a boarding pass but i was not allowed to board the plane citing reason that i did not had a transit visa for Germany. However, people who have valid USA visa do not require a transit visa.
I was forced to buy a very expensive ticket for direct flight to USA which costed me alot. What should i do???
I was forced to buy a very expensive ticket for direct flight to USA which costed me alot. What should i do???
-You may not be allowed onboard if your connection flight to the US is on a separate ticket ( different etix number ) and visa information for Germany would be required in this case.
-You had more than 24 hours to spend in Germany.
Otherwise there is no reason that you are denied for boarding. Did your boarding pass to Frankfurt had the signage "DOC OK" or "APIS"? In this case you should be allowed to board the aircraft. And at the gate, you should also have seen a supervisor or an aviation security agent and explain the situation at the spot.
Unfortunately, there is no way to request the money for the direct flight that you bought at the airport. If you left Istanbul, I'm sorry that you have lost your rights for the IST-FRA-US ticket as now that ticket would stand as a no-show
Dec 10, 2018, 2:55 am
#3
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OP - sorry to hear that. Can you share some info about the flights (flt nos & timings) you were scheduled to take. Also, did you get your BP for your FRA-USA leg as well and then were denied boarding?
This is not quite correct
- Separate tix is allowed as long as you don't have to go landside to recheck in your luggage
- Max 12 hours not 24 in GER but also dependent on the airport's operational hours. For FRA it is 24 hours other shut down early and you're not allowed to stay there overnight. But since this was FRA you'd get the full 12 hours.
In the regular case, you should be allowed onboard.
-You may not be allowed onboard if your connection flight to the US is on a separate ticket ( different etix number ) and visa information for Germany would be required in this case.
-You had more than 24 hours to spend in Germany.
-You may not be allowed onboard if your connection flight to the US is on a separate ticket ( different etix number ) and visa information for Germany would be required in this case.
-You had more than 24 hours to spend in Germany.
- Separate tix is allowed as long as you don't have to go landside to recheck in your luggage
- Max 12 hours not 24 in GER but also dependent on the airport's operational hours. For FRA it is 24 hours other shut down early and you're not allowed to stay there overnight. But since this was FRA you'd get the full 12 hours.
Dec 10, 2018, 3:37 am
#4
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I doubt that a IST-FRA-USA flight was on Turkish Airlines, in which case this thread belongs in the forum of the operating airline. (LH?)
Dec 10, 2018, 6:06 am
#5
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I don't want to presume for the OP, but it is quite possible that IST-FRA was on TK, and therefore TK agents in IST denied OP boarding...
Dec 10, 2018, 6:16 am
#6
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AFAIK TK don't codeshare on other non-Turkey TATL routes (happy to be corrected if that isn't true) and a TK-->LH connection on a single ticket is not going to be cheap (again I don't think LH codeshares with TK). Perhaps using miles or separate tickets, but I would still wager that a newbie OP jumped to Turkey rather than the actual airline. Won't know until the OP updates us...
Dec 10, 2018, 9:04 am
#7
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Bottom line is the OP needs to provide significantly greater detail, including whether he was on one or two tickets, the carriers and the scheduled departure and arrival times, including at FRA. In particular, if on two tickets, would have to know whether OP presented that second e-ticket receipt to TK at check-in.
Dec 10, 2018, 1:14 pm
#8
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According to german law, you do not need a transit visa, if you stay inside of the international terminal. That means your luggage must be forwarded and you mustn't leave the terminal or cross the Schengen Area in any form. Was the second leg operated by TK? If not, it is very likely that you'd had to proceed to baggage claim and than check in again at the counter of the next carrier, for which a US VISA only is not enough. In that case you would need a Schengen Visa, sorry.
Dec 10, 2018, 1:42 pm
#9
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So maybe OP was flying AA or DL or something like that out of FRA.
Dec 10, 2018, 2:33 pm
#10
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TK would sell one of their direct flights to the US, with a final domestic leg on UA if needed.
AFAIK TK don't codeshare on other non-Turkey TATL routes (happy to be corrected if that isn't true) and a TK-->LH connection on a single ticket is not going to be cheap (again I don't think LH codeshares with TK). Perhaps using miles or separate tickets, but I would still wager that a newbie OP jumped to Turkey rather than the actual airline. Won't know until the OP updates us...
AFAIK TK don't codeshare on other non-Turkey TATL routes (happy to be corrected if that isn't true) and a TK-->LH connection on a single ticket is not going to be cheap (again I don't think LH codeshares with TK). Perhaps using miles or separate tickets, but I would still wager that a newbie OP jumped to Turkey rather than the actual airline. Won't know until the OP updates us...
UA is responsible for fare filing for US point of sale, and they are very liberal with intra-region interline options. Similar to how they permit HKG-BKK, for example, to be operated by CX on even some of their cheapest fares.
Dec 10, 2018, 4:02 pm
#11
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Part of the *A agreement is that all of its carriers interline with each other. In addition both AA and DL have interline ticketing agreements with TK.
But, none of that means that a particular fare may be sold on a particular route across two or more carriers.
None of this really matters because it really is more important for OP to simply return with his routing rather than worrying about fare construction.
But, none of that means that a particular fare may be sold on a particular route across two or more carriers.
None of this really matters because it really is more important for OP to simply return with his routing rather than worrying about fare construction.
Dec 27, 2018, 11:44 am
#12
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Looks like this thread already covered a lot of possibilities while I've been away from FT, but I think we are discounting the possibility of gate agent/contractor incompetence. I had a similar experience where Turkish Ground (TGS, not Gozen) tried to deny boarding at the gate to my US LPR spouse on an IST-MUC-LHR-YVR itinerary operated by TK/LH/AC on a single ticket number back in the days when you could stitch together more creative award routings with UA miles. The issue for them was that they believed that there was no possible way to do an airside transit from TK to LH at MUC. I knew they were wrong and protested as much as I could while pointing to Timatic Web printouts as the boarding process continued. Sure enough, TGS backed down just before the gate closed and we were on our way.
Anyway, the point is that the gate agents and contractors who work non-TATL flights do not seem to have a good sense of the nuances of the TWOV policies and concessions that facilitate travel for US residents and visitors, and I fear that it is sometimes necessary to be as assertive as one can be with them without causing a scene.
Anyway, the point is that the gate agents and contractors who work non-TATL flights do not seem to have a good sense of the nuances of the TWOV policies and concessions that facilitate travel for US residents and visitors, and I fear that it is sometimes necessary to be as assertive as one can be with them without causing a scene.