“I wanted to reward my 13-year-old daughter for her hard work this year at school,” said Rebecca Smith. “She wanted to visit Titanic Belfast. So I booked flights on British Airways and a hotel in Belfast.”
Mother and daughter arrived from their home in Cambridgeshire in good time for their flight on 23 July – only to be denied boarding by BA and sent home.
Ms Smith, 50, complained three times that they had been unfairly treated. But the airline closed down their complaint. Bizarrely, British Airways blamed the pair for not having valid passports – even though they had the documents, which in any case are not required for domestic flights.
British Airways has now apologised to them, and offered a refund for the flights plus £208 in compensation – less than the law demands.
Ms Smith told The Independent how their short-break disintegrated without them getting any further than London Heathrow.
“I had already checked in by mobile, but the boarding passes would not come up on the BA app. I printed the boarding passes out at the airport at one of the self-service kiosks and we made our way to security.
“The boarding passes were rejected at the entrance to security. The Heathrow staff there directed us to a desk with two BA members of staff.
“The issue appeared to be that the computer insisted we needed ID. This wasn’t a problem as we both had our passports.
“However, no matter how many times the BA member of staff tried to enter the passport details, the computer refused to accept them as it then insisted it was a domestic flight and ID was not needed.
“We were therefore stuck in perpetual circle of the insistence for ID but then the refusal to accept ID.
“I reiterate there was nothing wrong with the passports or the dates on them. Another member of staff joined in but could not solve the problem.
“We were then left off the flight as we simply couldn’t get through security.
“To say we were both disappointed was an understatement. The final member of staff made detailed notes on the booking reference and encouraged us to email in for a refund or move of the flight.”
The following day Ms Smith complained to British Airways, asking for a refund for their tickets. Two weeks later her claim was rejected by BA. The airline told her: “As you didn’t have your updated passport with…
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