Passenger information
Mr. KP Philip (my dad)
Booking reference KDARGC
Mrs. S Philip (my mom)
Booking reference KCHXGF
Flight information
QR1366
Depart from OR Tambo (Johannesburg, South Africa) at 08:00
Arrival at Doha at 17:20
QR0516
Depart from Doha at 19:10
Arrival at Cochin International (Kerala, India) at 02:05
Initial departure date: 22 Feb 2022
17 Feb 2022
Both my parents received emails from Qatar Airways:
From:
Date: Thu, Feb 17, 2022, 3:20 AM
Subject: REMINDER: Check the latest travel and entry requirements - only 5 days left
Included the link with the Travel and Entry requirements and Customer Acknowledgement Form.
They checked the links, as well as the Air Suvidha Website, every day until the planned flight. According to all three sources it was clearly stated that my parents, who are Indian Citizens and fully vaccinated in India, did not have to conduct a PCR Test. Based on this they prepared for the journey accordingly.
Tuesday, 22 Feb 2022
We left Pretoria (Meyerspark) at around 05:00 after all the goodbyes between my parents and our children and arrived at OR Tambo around 5:35 am. I requested the security to allow my husband (J.A. Meyer) to accompany my elderly parents to help with 4 pieces of luggage, while I stood behind the security gate.
At the check-in podium, two women (Puseletso and Thabelo), asked my parents for a PCR Test certificate. My father explained that both Qatar Travel Requirements and India’s entry rules said there is no need for PCR as they were fully vaccinated in India.
They were then sent to another counter to speak to a different ground agent who claimed PCR was for South Africa. My dad logged into the Qatar Site and showed this was not the case. Then they claimed it was for Doha, but Qatar Travel Requirements website clearly states that transiting passengers only need requirements of final destination. Finally she said India hasn’t updated them and their system at OR tambo still indicates that a PCR test is required. My father also showed them some site / circular dated 10 February 2022 from India.
Despite the mounting evidence, she wouldn’t budge or provide us the courtesy of referring us to her supervisor / manager. She walked away rudely claiming she had a job to do and left them, advising them they had no option but to rebook.
My distressed 70 year old father in panic asked for a rebooking (keep in mind he is thinking of his 93 year old mother). The booking agent initially offered to put my parents on the afternoon flight, the same day, but my parents felt that this was not an option due to insufficient time to receive a PCR test and so my dad asked for the next available 08:00 flight, which was Thursday 24 Feb 2022.
Even though the tickets were flexible the booking agent charged an additional R29 156 (ZAR) for the two tickets together (R5262 for one ticket and R23894 for the second). My father was desperate to get back home, so asked my husband to pay for this rebooking with his American express credit card. When we later checked on the Qatar website how much a new ticket would be, it was around R17500, so how did they charge an additional R23894 for changing one ticket?!
In the meantime I phoned the Qatar Customer Centre and tried to explain the situation to the best of my knowledge. The agent told me that he can do a rebooking and I needed their reference number. I attempted to make contact with my mom and asked her to get papers out of the file, but it was too late by then (they had completed the rebooking transaction) and I cut the call.
We decided to go to the Qatar ticketing office to try and get an explanation of why a date change on a flexi-ticket was being charged so much by the booking agent at OR Tambo while a Qatar call centre agent could have changed the booking for free. Nothing that was said really made sense. We were then directed to the Qatar office on level 3 at OR Tambo.
When we arrived at the Qatar office we found nobody there after 8am. A young lady in a Qatar uniform asked us if she could help and she gracefully listened to us, but then explained that she is a trainee, that the managers are in a meeting and would only arrive after 10:30 am.
We couldn’t wait that long since my husband was already late for work and didn’t have his laptop, so we had to leave the office and head back to Pretoria. We asked for a direct telephone number but she wasn’t able to give one for the Qatar JHB Office, but said we have to go via the call centre.
The moment we arrived in Pretoria I rushed with my parents to the Path Care Clinic at Wilgers Hospital where PCR tests were conducted at a fee of R500 (ZAR) each.
Wednesday, 23 Feb 2022
My mom is on chronic medication for diabetes and all the medicine that she didn’t need for the journey was packed in the check-in luggage, so we had to undo the bubble wrapping in order to get hold of it. We did it in such a way so that we can rewrap the bag afterwards in order not to have to pay for the wrapping a second time.
Once again we had to spend a huge amount of time completing the Air Suvidha application and getting the documentation ready (this time including the PCR tests) to try and make the process at the airport as stress-free as possible for my parents.
Thursday, 24 Feb 2022
We left Pretoria (Meyerspark) at around 05:10 after all the goodbyes (now for the second time) between my parents and our children and arrived at OR Tambo around 5:45 am. This time I accompanied my parents to help them with the baggage while my husband was parking the car.
They took photos of the PCR and other documents and let my parents and myself through to the check- in counter. The bags were weighed and tagged to go to Cochin. Please note there is an X-Ray machine at the Check In Counter, but apparently it is not used! My parents were given boarding passes and after a tearful goodbye, went through to imigraton.
My husband and I then left the airport, heading to Pretoria, assuming everything was fine. My mom and dad sent a WhatsApp message around 06:28 South African time (09:58 Indian time) to my brother in India to let him know they were sitting close to the boarding gate waiting to board the plane.
From what I understand, they went up to the boarding gate and gave in their boarding passes to start boarding. Suddenly, some man came, calling them and telling them that the supervisor was coming to see them. The gentleman told my parents it's nothing to worry about and led them to a room. I can’t imagine the stress levels my aged parents faced, coupled with hopelessness and confusion!
Apparently there was something dangerous in my mom’s checked in baggage and the personnel asked what it was. My 68 year old mother just couldn’t remember anything at that point, since much of the packing was already done months ago. At one point she thought, perhaps it was a doll with a battery inside.
My mom then suggested:
To give the key to the lock and the staff could remove it.
To go along with the gentlemen and take whatever it was out.
That I (her daughter living in Pretoria) could come and collect the bag.
Every one of the suggestions were rejected, so in desperation my dad suggested that they keep the bag and just allow him and my mother to leave.
According to my parents the supervisor never even came to meet them, so the young gentleman kept running between them and an unreasonable supervisor sitting somewhere. What a waste of valuable time that could have been used to remove “the dangerous object”. What none o[censored]s can understand is, if my parents were at the boarding gate at 06:30, why weren't they contacted long before the boarding process started? There certainly was enough time to sort out this mess and allow my parents to travel together!
My dad called me at 07:33, by which time we had almost reached our home in Pretoria, telling me he is facing a huge problem and doesn't know what to do. Distraught and in tears he explained the situation as my parents were told that they needed to make a decision quickly. They wouldn’t be allowed on the 8AM flight together, so they either had to separate so that my dad goes ahead or they could both take the afternoon flight.
How can any human being treat anybody like this - particularly to two elderly pensioners? My parents were held under duress, by certain incompetent personnel at OR Tambo International Airport who appeared to, like a bunch of thugs, enjoyed inflicting pain on two helpless and aged individuals!
Let me also make you aware, my parents were educators in South Africa, teaching hundreds of students, over a period of 30-35 years! Teaching the basic principles of respect, common courtesy and ethics. The behaviour displayed to them in return was callous, cruel, rude and unbecoming of professional personnel!
Never mind the stress I was under! The trauma my aged parents faced was unbearable! How does someone simply offer two elderly people an afternoon flight, without taking their medical situation into account:
My mother is a diabetic who takes medication three times a day.
My father takes medication two times a day for hyper-tension and cholesterol.
Just think for a second about the circumstances around the afternoon flight:
A long stopover at Doha with no food vouchers or accommodation available and limited knowledge on how to operate a cell phone to keep contact.
Additional costs for more PCR tests, since they would arrive in India a whole extra day later.
Insufficient medication on hand for the extended journey.
This was more like a punishment than a solution!
My father contacted me one last time while sitting with my mom, not knowing what to do. He sounded disorientated, confused and highly emotional as he was grappling with the question of whether he should leave his wife and go back home to his 93 year old mother or stay behind and support his spouse?
Both my mother and I told him to take the 8AM flight and that I would collect my mother from the airport. My husband had to start working and couldn’t accompany me, since he had already lost a few hours on Tuesday with our ordeal at the airport. I therefore grabbed the keys and started driving back to Johannesburg almost immediately after coming home.
While I was driving to the airport, my father managed to board the plane. I later heard from my mother that my panicking 70 year old father ran to the aeroplane. Before take-off he called me again.
He was highly concerned and worried about my mother, who has no South African SIM card to call me and couldn’t get on the Wifi at OR Tambo (that doesn’t really work anyway). With great difficulty I managed to control my emotions so as not to panic my father further. I kept reassuring him that I was on the way and would find my mother, and he didn’t have to worry. When I mentioned there was a bit of traffic, he immediately said that he would call later
How can anyone allow such distress upon two innocent human beings? What if my elderly father had fallen or his BP increased to a dangerous point. Neither of my parents had taken their morning medication at this point.
In the meantime my mother was given one of her checked in luggage and told to proceed to the unclaimed baggage area. My mother then explained that she doesn’t really know OR Tambo airport, so a gentleman escorted her to a point where she was left with another person. On the way my mom asked him to connect her to the Wifi in order to contact me, but he replied that the Internet at the airport is very bad and doesn’t work!
Why none of the Qatar ground personnel didn’t offer to call me or escort her to an office is beyond my understanding. A female personnel member helped her get her bag and left her at the arrivals section telling my mother this is where their duty ends - unbelievable! My mom was clearly distressed, with no means to call me.
She decided to leave the inside of the airport and went outside. Apparently some of the strangers passing by asked my mother if she was ok, so I can’t picture what she must have looked like for absolute strangers to be concerned about her! Luckily, she recognised another passenger, who was also forced to also leave the same flight. He was a Pakistani gentleman with a little toddler and kindly offered her his cell phone. She contacted me around 8:49am.
During this time there were points where I felt like I was close to having a panic attack. Sleep deprivation, thoughts of my parents being separated and how to find my mother after yet another unexpected traumatic incident at the airport almost overpowered me.
I parked the car at the parking terminal and rushed to the International Check-In area, but to my utter dismay I couldn't find her! I then made my way to the Qatar ticketing office, hoping she would be there, but she wasn’t there either. The gentleman on duty called immigration and baggage control and by now I was starting to feel afraid for her safety and health.
So many “what if’s” ran through my head: had her sugar levels fallen since she was due to take her meds at 8:30am and hadn’t eaten yet as far as I knew, or had she wandered around and got lost? He found out she was sent to unclaimed baggage and tried to direct me, but I asked that he accompany me, as I was exhausted and my nerves were worn out by then.
At 8.49am I received a call from an unknown number, but I didn’t hear my phone ring and missed the call. I called back moments later, finally heard my mother’s distraught voice and managed to find out where she was sitting. She told me she was close to the Nelson Mandela Statue. We hastily made our way to the arrivals inside the airport, but didn’t see her there. We then proceeded to the OR Thambo statue close to the Intercontinental Hotel, but still had no sight of her. The young gentleman kept telling me not to worry.
Finally we spotted her sitting alone outside: a small, highly tensed up figure, looking so lost. Initially my mother couldn’t talk when we reached her, that is how overwhelmed she was. Why couldn’t Qatar personnel have the decency to call me using their phone and how dare they leave my mother unattended?!
We immediately went back to the Qatar ticket sales. Initially I thought of cancelling her booking completely and travelling together later in the year, but then the gentlemen called the call Qatar centre and a ticket was issued for the 8AM flight the next morning without any extra fee. I was assured that she would get wheelchair assistance all the way to Cochin International Airport and she wouldn’t be left alone. This service was also mentioned on the electronic receipt of the new booking.
I then enquired what this dangerous thing my mother had in her baggage was, but not even the gentleman could get a clear answer when he called the X-Ray or baggage department. The gentleman who helped locate my mom then told me that the situation with the baggage was handled totally wrong and that she should have been given the chance to open the bag and leave with my dad. Clearly there is a discrepancy between policy and what happens in practice!
We started heading to the car, but I suddenly realised that even though Qatar Website and Air Suvidha didn’t require a PCR for a fully vaccinated individual who took the vaccine from India, my mom might have to take another PCR to avoid another traumatic situation the next day. We went to clarify this question regarding PCR and were directed to the ground personnel Puseletso and Thabelo.
I submitted the PCR test my mom had taken on Tuesday afternoon at Pathcare. The date and time of the test conducted and finalised at PathCare was[protected]:18, so Puseletso and Thabelo then said my mother would have to take a new test since India would not accept the current test result. We were directed downstairs to a mobile lab that would give results in 2 hours.
We reached the mobile Testing site close to the police station at the airport, which is quite a distance to walk with all the luggage. I had to pay R1500 (ZAR) for this unnecessary test. After conducting the test at 10:30am I saw my mother take a sweet out of her bag to eat. I realised her sugar levels were falling and asked her if she had eaten the glucose biscuits in her bag, to which she replied, “Yes”. We dropped the baggage in the car and headed to Bytes Restaurant to have breakfast, we sat down and she finally spoke about her experience.
Since we had to wait two hours for PCR test results, we thought we could use the time productively and seek out a Qatar Office manager. It was after 10am, but no one was at the office on the third floor. We headed down stairs and found a woman dressed in a Qatar Airways uniform. The first thing I asked was whether PCR was necessary for this specific case and she said, “No”.
She then explained to me that Qatar Airways has a contract with the ground agents who had no right to ignore the Qatar Travel Requirements. According to protocol the ground personnel should have contacted the Qatar Supervising Manager at that stage, so my parents should have been on the on Tuesday flight and there was no need for this additional PCR test.
As far as my family is concerned the ground personnel / agents are contracted by Qatar and by extension they are representatives of Qatar Airways. They are the face of Qatar to all passengers and everything they do (right or wrong) reflects on Qatar. Any attempt from Qatar to try and wriggle away from any responsibility with what we have been going through would be a sad confirmation that you don’t care about your customers, just their money.
We proceeded to collect the PCR test, but my mom’s name and surname had been mixed up and her name was misspelt, so we waited longer than anticipated to get hold of the result. Fortunately the Clinic supervisor immediately corrected it and apologised for the inconvenience. Finally we could head back home to Pretoria after spending 4 and a half hours at the airport (excluding the first trip in the morning that was just supposed to be a drop-off).
We immediately set out to buy a South African Sim card for my mom, so we could keep in touch the next day at the airport. Once home we unwrapped her bag, opened it in less than 10 minutes and the only thing we suspect caused the baggage issue was a set of rechargeable LED lamps. All this trauma and harassment for a 10 minute job goes beyond my understanding!
I struggled to complete the Air Suvidha forms this third time, because we needed a seat number from Doha to Cochin, but couldn’t do an online check in on the Qatar site. One could add 00, but once a seat was assigned the form had to be modified online, which is something my mom can’t do since technology is a challenge at her age. Whoever reissued my mother’s ticket forgot to cancel the booking for the 8 AM flight on 24 Feb 2022. We called the SA Qatar Customer Care, and held the phone for over 30 minutes, but they couldn’t help. We then called Qatar Customer Care in Doha and someone directed my husband to select a seat by using the “Manage my Trip” option.
That night my mom couldn’t sleep, because she was worried about my father, about the trip alone the next day, and afraid that something else would go wrong. I reminded her of the assurance we had from the Ticketing Personnel that she would have wheelchair service all the way and wouldn’t get lost. At midnight South African time, we made contact with my father, who mentioned that no one at Cochin International Airport asked for PCR as we expected and in accordance with current Indian regulations.
Friday, 25 Feb 2022
We left Pretoria (Meyerspark) at around 05:00 after all the goodbyes between my mom and our children and arrived at OR Tambo around 5:35 am. I again accompanied my mom to help with the baggage while my husband was parking the car, but this time we were forced to join the normal check in queue.
I decided to ask the ladies at the Web Check-In podium (Puseletso and Thabelo) if my mom could come through since she was promised wheelchair assistance all the way to Cochin. They asked only for her Indian Vaccination Certificate and not for a PCR test. I asked them why they gave me wrong advice the previous day, which cost me R1500. One of them apologised, but frankly an apology at this stage was meaningless.
They directed me to counter A33 where, unbelievably, my mom was asked for a PCR test!! We submitted the new one, too exhausted to even try and explain that it wasn’t required. At every point we were getting conflicting information from people working in the same company! Then I was asked to produce a medical certificate to prove my 68 year old mother needs the wheelchair.
This was the last straw for me! I lost my control completely and started shouting and trembling. My mother tried to calm me down by rubbing my back. I screamed in agony that this is the third day we are facing another torturous situation! The last few days’ tension, trauma, lack of sleep and stress levels finally became too much.
How could I let my mother go alone with no help whatsoever after assuring her the night before that she would be assisted all the way till Cochin International Airport? Assurance was given to me the previous day by ground personnel and it was stated on the website and the printed out E-Ticket.
It all seemed to be some sort of a game for the people working at ground level to terrorise customers in stead of helping them. Customer care is apparently not a major concern - clearly! At this point I felt that the majority of the ground agents at Qatar Airways prioritise harassing customers!
The agent at A33 looked at one of his colleagues who nodded her head and the wheelchair arrived. While at the counter, we went through my mom’s hand luggage to make sure there wasn’t anything dangerous in there. The emergency lamps were apparently not allowed in hand luggage, so I handed them over to my husband who was waiting at the security gate.
I asked if they could please contact me if they find anything dangerous in her checked-in baggage, but was told that isn’t allowed. My mom’s baggage was tagged again and we set off, parting ways again. I kept assuring her over the phone that I wouldn’t leave the airport until the plane left and even asked the gentleman pushing her wheelchair to contact me once she was on board.
I unexpectedly heard a couple speaking Malayalam, ran to them and found out that their dad (Mr. George) was on the flight. I contacted my mom and told her Mr. George would be on the same flight all the way to Cochin too. I kept calling every 5 to 10 minutes to make sure my mom was fine.
My husband and I went back to the Qatar ticketing agents to complain about the wheelchair assistance which was almost denied, because she didn’t have a medical certificate, despite the assurance the day before that it would not be a problem. We insisted on speaking to a Qatar manager on duty right away and explained that we had tried the office on Tuesday morning, Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon only to find it empty or to be told the managers were in meetings and couldn’t be disturbed.
She then called Mr. Moosa, who agreed to meet with us at the Qatar check in counter. We walked over to the check-in area and asked the personnel there where we should wait and were told that we could wait anywhere. We almost missed Mr. Moosa, who arrived, but was told that no one was waiting. We managed to catch up with Mr. Moosa who then listened to us relaying the series of incidents that had occured over the past 4 days. Somewhere along the line I started getting overwhelmed with emotion.
Mr. Moosa informed us that on Tuesday:
The Ground Personnel were, according to protocol, meant to call the Qatar Supervising Manager when my dad and mom were presenting their Indian Covid Vaccination Certificate and evidence regarding travel requirements.
My aged parents were therefore unjustly prevented from boarding the plane based on ill-informed ground personnel, who rudely walked away claiming they had a job to do.
My parents should never have paid the additional R29 156 (ZAR) for the rebooking.
Never have been required to take the PCR tests (R1000)
He also confirmed what was done to my mom and dad on Thursday - was totally out of line:
The supervisor should have met with my parents and allowed my mom to take out the dangerous item.
The fact that they were already waiting from 6:30am and were only approached at the last minute before boarding was wrong.
Forcing two aged and highly traumatised individuals to make a decision to separate or fly another day under such a pressurised situation was unthinkable.
Leaving my mother alone with no form of communication to contact me was inexcusable.
Giving wrong Information regarding PCR test requirements again and incurring an additional expense of R1500 was wrong.
Regarding Friday, Mr Moosa also confirmed:
If the ticket had been booked with wheelchair assistance there was no need to ask for a medical certificate in the case of an elderly person.
An elderly person has the right to ask for a wheelchair with no medical certificate required.
Person at the counter had no right to ask for a PCR test in this particular case.
The fact we couldn’t get hold of any Qatar Office personnel was strange.
We are expecting a full refund for:
All charges related to tickets rebooking on 22 Feb 2022
The 3 PCR tests conducted unnecessarily
Transport and parking costs for the additional trips to OR Tambo Airport on:
24 Feb 2022 (2 trips)
25 Feb 2022.
Transport and parking costs for the additional trip to Cochin Airport on 26 Feb 2022.
Compensation for the mental and emotional trauma my parents and I faced on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at OR Tambo Airport.
Compensation for the many hours of our family’s time that was taken up by having to repeatedly complete the pre-flight documentation after my parents were kept off the flight on 22 Feb 2022.
According to us the following should be done:
Disciplinary action against the ground personnel for all the ill-treatment toward two retired and aged individuals.
Visible boards / posters displaying the correct protocol at OR Tambo Airport, so that no customers would so easily by harassed by personnel.
Proper training for your employees and ground agents to behave in a professional and respectful manner!
A Qatar employee should always be on the floor during check-in times to make sure that the correct protocols are followed.
X-Ray machines should be operating at the check in counter itself.
Special Thanks To:
1)Mr. Moosa for hearing us out and also personally going to the plane before takeoff and talking to my mother.
2)Siddhant, a crew member on QR1366, for taking the time to go and listen to my mother’s plight from Tuesday till Friday and reporting it to his seniors.
3)Lee Jeoun and Lee Seung
Regards,
Preethi Meyer
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