US citizen travelling with non-US citizen child who was denied boarding by KLM for our travel to USA
I am a US citizen residing in Berlin with my wife and child, who are both German citizens. We have traveled to the US before and have had zero issue with boarding and entry to the US.
This time my daughter and I would be travelling alone for an urgent family matter as my wife was unable to secure the necessary time off from work. We had the signed permission from my wife for us to travel to the US without her, my child's birth certificate, her approved ESTA, valid German passport, negative PCR test results, and my wife even accompanied us to check-in at the KLM counter.
When we tried to check in for our boarding passes and luggage drop-off, the KLM agent scanned our passports and said that my daughter was not allowed to board a flight to the US without a valid ESTA.
We were a bit confused, as we had no indication that the ESTA was not approved, and even pulled up the website and demonstrated the approved status of her visa waiver. She called some unknown entity, rudely told us that only what it said on her screen mattered, and that there was nothing else to be done and please leave!
Of course this being a 6:30am flight meant that our check-in was at 4:30am which left us with no options for assistance from anybody we could call at that hour. Dejected and frustrated, I immediately emailed the US Embassy Berlin and awaited their response. Once agencies in the US became available, I contacted DHS and CBP as well.
The embassy responded with a series of automated responses, so I called their emergency line as well. They said there was no reason that she couldn't enter the US as far as they knew but that we needed to speak with Homeland Security.
As there was no direct number to DHS, we eventually managed to speak to a Customs and Border Patrol agent who actually ran all of her docs and info and told us that her being denied boarding was strange since his screen showed that she was cleared for entry into the US. He said Regional Carrier Liaison Group is always available for airlines to speak to directly, and that they should have given a valid reason for why and where this decision to not let her board came from.
Since this incident, the Embassy gave us an emergency appointment to file her CRBA and issued her an emergency US passport to avoid any future mishaps with travel to the US.
All sources seem to indicate that this mistake with boarding happened on KLM's side, who seem to have been ok with just giving us vouchers for the value of our flight even though re-booking with such short notice incurs loads of extra costs (flight, pcr tests, planned lodging, medical appointment cancellation/rescheduling, and just general mental anguish for our family both here and stateside) which we feel KLM should cover. At the very least we shouldn't have to pay extra flight costs and PCR tests.
Do we have any right to compensation from the airline for these added costs, considering our situation?
Best Answer
There's a lot going on here, and likely mistakes being made on multiple sides.
Firstly, your daughter holds US citizenship by birth, and this fact was seemingly not declared on her ESTA application, which technically makes the application (and thus the resulting ESTA) fraudulent. I'm not necessarily suggesting this was done deliberately, and it likely wasn't the reason for the issues you experienced, but it's a good example of how people can make honest mistakes - as you (or your wife) did in this case!
Secondly, as the check-in agent claimed, the ESTA verification is fully automated. Once the travelers passport details are entered/scanned, the computer checks with US Department of Homeland Security to confirm the passenger is allowed board the plane - which seemingly in this case was denied by the computer. Without further details it's difficult to know why this was - perhaps there was a typo on the booking or the ESTA application (eg, an incorrect birthday - D/M/Y rather than M/D/Y, or something like that which could easily be missed). Or perhaps the agent entered the passport number incorrectly. Or perhaps DHS did actually deny boarding for a reason they considered to be valid. The simple fact is, there's no way to tell.
Yes, there is an escalation process the agent can follow in this situation. But again, without further details it's impossible to know why they didn't.
As to your specific question around compensation, the simple fact is that NO, you are not due compensation - or at least not unless you are able to prove that the airline made a mistake and realistically I don't think you'll be able to (especially given the US citizenship/invalid ESTA angle, which whilst likely not directly relevant, still shows that there is the potential that the ESTA was not valid).
EU-261 which is the regulation that covers such compensation for "denied boarding" specifically defines "denied boarding as :
(j) "denied boarding" means a refusal to carry passengers on a flight, although they have presented themselves for boarding under the conditions laid down in Article 3(2), except where there are reasonable grounds to deny them boarding, such as reasons of health, safety or security, or inadequate travel documentation;
In this case, you were denied boarding due to what the airline claimed was "inadequate travel documentation" so - presuming they were correct in doing so - there is no compensation due.
You can of course claim they were not correct in that claim, but proving that is likely going to be impossible. They will claim the DHS told them not to board the passenger, so they didn't.
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What are the travel requirements for all air passengers arriving to the US from a foreign country during Covid 19?
As of 12:01AM ET on June 12, 2022, CDC will no longer require air passengers traveling from a foreign country to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight.Do you need a negative Covid test to fly KLM?
Please make sure to bring your vaccination certificate, negative test result, or recovery certificate with you on paper.What documents do you need when flying to US?
For travel within the United States Travelers 18 years of age and older are required to show a valid, current U.S. federal or state-issued photo ID that contains the following: name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a tamper-resistant feature. These IDs include: U.S. passport. U.S. passport card.Does KLM use TSA precheck?
Effective 1 February 2018, KLM is globally participating in the TSA pre check program. This program is one of the trusted travel programs of the united states. It allows eligible customers to benefit from quick screening through the TSA pre check lanes at U.S. Airports when travelling on all KLM operated flights.DO NOT fly AIR FRANCE or KLM from LAGOS, NIGERA ❌ (Until YOU WATCH This video) | Sassy Funke
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