Indian child denied entry by UAE airlines

DUBAI: An Indian expatriate in the UAE has accused an employee of Emirates Airlines of harassing him and his family by not allowing them to board a flight at Thiruvananthapuram.

Abdul Khadar Sabeer, a businessman based in Ajman, who runs a chain of supermarkets and a school, told The Gulf Today that his infant was not allowed entry on the ground that the ticket PNR was incorrect.

He was booked on business class with his wife and three children. The family was returning from Kerala on August 27. Emirates is yet to reply to him on his formal complaint.

"I sought the help of the Emirates official to get another booking, which I assume is not a difficult thing since they don't have to allocate a separate seat for an infant," Sabeer said. He claimed that the official did not cooperate and so he had to purchase another ticket.

However, a brief statement from Emirates Airlines to The Gulf on Sunday said, "On check-in at Thiruvananthapuram airport, names of two of the passengers as indicated at the time of booking did not match the official names as indicated in the passport. The ticket of a third passenger was also discovered to be invalid."
   
The Airlines expressed regret at the inconvenience. "As per procedure, the Emirates supervisor requested the affected passengers to wait while the ticket details were being cross-checked. After obtaining all necessary verifications, the passengers checked-in," according to a statement.