Denied Boarding
On the 21st of November I had a connecting flight on Turkish Airlines from Lahore (Pakistan) to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) via Istanbul amd Panama City.
In Istanbul, when the Panama City flight was boarding, I was denied boarding. They said that I do not have a Panama transit visa. Such a visa was not required in my case, as I had only a 4 hour stay there and my destination country was the Dominican Republic. Later I was told the reason was "you did not have a valid visa."
I can prove I had a genuine valid business visa and I have been unfairly denied. I want compensation, but the airline says no, and keeps on giving different reasons for my denied boarding. I have consulted my lawyer, who advised me to catch them on social media first, but I am not sure whether it's worth it or not. I want to directly contact higher authorities of Turkish Airlines about my case. I don't think Customer Care is seriously considering my case.
What can I do? And how can I prevent this in future?
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What are the reasons for denied boarding?
Non-Discriminatory Reasons For Being Denied Boarding- Being intoxicated or under the influence of illegal drugs.
- Attempting to interfere with the duties of a flight crew member.
- Disrupting flight operations or engaging in unruly behavior.
- Having an offensive odor that is not caused by a disability or illness.
Can I get a refund if I was denied boarding?
Where involuntary denied boarding occurs, your air carrier must offer you the choice between; re-routing as soon as possible; re-routing at a later date at your convenience; and. a refund of the full cost of the unused flight ticket.How do you get denied for boarding?
The most common reason for denied boarding is overbooking. This is when airlines sell more tickets than there are seats on the aircraft.Can airlines deny you boarding?
Yes unfortunately airlines can refuse boarding or remove a passenger from a plane for any reason at all. Even of the passenger has paid full fare for the ticket. Passengers do not have many rights when it comes to being on an airline.Denied Boarding (My Worst Journey Ever)
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Daniel Kist, Longxiang Qian, veerasak Piyawatanakul, Stas Knop