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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/oct/22/airlines-bar-passengers-visa-rules-no-recourse
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| Barred from flying from a British airport – over a visa he didn’t need | Barred from flying from a British airport – over a visa he didn’t need |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Varun Warrier spent months planning a hiking holiday in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The Indian academic, who holds a British residence permit, never got further than the Wizz Air check-in desk at Luton airport. Staff told him he could not travel without a visa and refused to check him in even when he produced an email from the Georgian embassy confirming that British residence permit holders are exempt from visas for short stays. | Varun Warrier spent months planning a hiking holiday in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The Indian academic, who holds a British residence permit, never got further than the Wizz Air check-in desk at Luton airport. Staff told him he could not travel without a visa and refused to check him in even when he produced an email from the Georgian embassy confirming that British residence permit holders are exempt from visas for short stays. |
| Warrier had to return home to Cambridge while his travel companions took off without him. “Wizz Air staff did not accept responsibility and said it was between the Georgian embassy and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO),” Warrier says. “The FCO said it is a matter between Wizz Air and the passenger.” The airline refunded Warrier after the Observer intervened and a spokesperson admits he was incorrectly barred due to “a misunderstanding with travel documentation”. | Warrier had to return home to Cambridge while his travel companions took off without him. “Wizz Air staff did not accept responsibility and said it was between the Georgian embassy and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO),” Warrier says. “The FCO said it is a matter between Wizz Air and the passenger.” The airline refunded Warrier after the Observer intervened and a spokesperson admits he was incorrectly barred due to “a misunderstanding with travel documentation”. |
| Warrier’s ordeal is not an isolated one. Airlines face a fine of between €3,000 (£2,640) and €5,000 if they are found to have flown non-EU nationals who have inadequate or forged documentation into the European Economic Area. In the same way that banks dodge potential anti-money-laundering penalties by freezing accounts of customers from countries deemed risky, it would seem that some airlines are overcautious – or under-informed – when faced with travel documents other than an EU passport in order to avoid a penalty. | Warrier’s ordeal is not an isolated one. Airlines face a fine of between €3,000 (£2,640) and €5,000 if they are found to have flown non-EU nationals who have inadequate or forged documentation into the European Economic Area. In the same way that banks dodge potential anti-money-laundering penalties by freezing accounts of customers from countries deemed risky, it would seem that some airlines are overcautious – or under-informed – when faced with travel documents other than an EU passport in order to avoid a penalty. |
| Why did easyJet insist on a needless visa? | |
| In March, the Observer highlighted the plight of Ibrahim Wako (not his real name) and his young family who were turned away at the departure gate at Gatwick by easyJet staff as they were about to board a flight to Berlin. Wako had successfully passed through immigration control with his UK travel document, issued by the Home Office to stateless refugees and asylum seekers, but easyJet staff insisted he needed a visa. Wako, along with his pregnant wife and two toddlers, who have British passports, had to retrieve their luggage and return home after seven hours at the airport. | In March, the Observer highlighted the plight of Ibrahim Wako (not his real name) and his young family who were turned away at the departure gate at Gatwick by easyJet staff as they were about to board a flight to Berlin. Wako had successfully passed through immigration control with his UK travel document, issued by the Home Office to stateless refugees and asylum seekers, but easyJet staff insisted he needed a visa. Wako, along with his pregnant wife and two toddlers, who have British passports, had to retrieve their luggage and return home after seven hours at the airport. |
| When he visited the German embassy the next day to apply for a visa he was told he did not require one. EasyJet was unmoved and pointed him to the TravelDoc website – which also confirmed that he did not need a visa. EasyJet refused to refund the cost of the tickets or pay “denied boarding” compensation, claiming that airlines could deny boarding at their discretion. “I believe the decision was based on racial profiling and discrimination,” Wako says. “We have had to put our travels on hold as this has made us very wary.” | When he visited the German embassy the next day to apply for a visa he was told he did not require one. EasyJet was unmoved and pointed him to the TravelDoc website – which also confirmed that he did not need a visa. EasyJet refused to refund the cost of the tickets or pay “denied boarding” compensation, claiming that airlines could deny boarding at their discretion. “I believe the decision was based on racial profiling and discrimination,” Wako says. “We have had to put our travels on hold as this has made us very wary.” |
| EasyJet eventually paid up, six weeks later, after the Observer got involved, and it blamed “a misunderstanding with travel documentation”. | EasyJet eventually paid up, six weeks later, after the Observer got involved, and it blamed “a misunderstanding with travel documentation”. |
| I believe the decision was based on racial profiling and discrimination | I believe the decision was based on racial profiling and discrimination |
| It is small wonder that airlines appear to be worried. Under EU rules, they have to fly a passenger back to the country they flew from if they are refused entry to their destination country and governments impose fines if they are found to have travelled with invalid paperwork. Carriers are also obliged to assume responsibility for passengers who are turned back from a border until they can return them to their starting point, potentially including footing bills for accommodation or healthcare. The rules emerged from the 1985 Schengen agreement, which, in abolishing internal border checks, effectively appointed airline staff as immigration controllers. | It is small wonder that airlines appear to be worried. Under EU rules, they have to fly a passenger back to the country they flew from if they are refused entry to their destination country and governments impose fines if they are found to have travelled with invalid paperwork. Carriers are also obliged to assume responsibility for passengers who are turned back from a border until they can return them to their starting point, potentially including footing bills for accommodation or healthcare. The rules emerged from the 1985 Schengen agreement, which, in abolishing internal border checks, effectively appointed airline staff as immigration controllers. |
| The UK government set the fine at £2,000 per inadequately documented arrival (IDA) in the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act. Last year, 5,791 IDAs arrived in the UK and 1,195 fines totalling nearly £2.5m were imposed on airlines that were deemed responsible, even though many of the travellers had passed successfully through national border controls. | The UK government set the fine at £2,000 per inadequately documented arrival (IDA) in the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act. Last year, 5,791 IDAs arrived in the UK and 1,195 fines totalling nearly £2.5m were imposed on airlines that were deemed responsible, even though many of the travellers had passed successfully through national border controls. |
| Critics claim the rules privatise immigration controls and put onerous responsibility on airline staff who lack the expertise of border police. They also disproportionately affect ethnic minority travellers and refugees. Amnesty International argues that those obliged to flee their homeland are often unable to obtain proper documentation in time. | Critics claim the rules privatise immigration controls and put onerous responsibility on airline staff who lack the expertise of border police. They also disproportionately affect ethnic minority travellers and refugees. Amnesty International argues that those obliged to flee their homeland are often unable to obtain proper documentation in time. |
| “Imposing liabilities on carriers gravely increases risks of arbitrariness and racial discrimination, by providing a strong incentive, even licence, for carriers and their employees to refuse passage on the basis of suspicion and prejudice to avoid the risk of a fine or other penalty,” says Steve Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK. | “Imposing liabilities on carriers gravely increases risks of arbitrariness and racial discrimination, by providing a strong incentive, even licence, for carriers and their employees to refuse passage on the basis of suspicion and prejudice to avoid the risk of a fine or other penalty,” says Steve Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK. |
| The Home Office insists holding airlines liable for immigration breaches is justified. “Passengers who travel to the UK with inadequate documentation can incur a significant cost to the UK taxpayer,” it says. “The government works closely with carriers and provides training to help prevent this.” | The Home Office insists holding airlines liable for immigration breaches is justified. “Passengers who travel to the UK with inadequate documentation can incur a significant cost to the UK taxpayer,” it says. “The government works closely with carriers and provides training to help prevent this.” |
| ‘Was I blocked from a Ryanair flight because of racism?’ | |
| Figures suggest the sanctions led to a sharp drop in the number of IDAs in the UK in the first 10 years after they were imposed, but the Home Office is concerned that the numbers have remained static since then. A no-deal Brexit is likely to wreak havoc with the system if visas are imposed for all passengers travelling between the UK and the EU, and airline staff have to police them. | Figures suggest the sanctions led to a sharp drop in the number of IDAs in the UK in the first 10 years after they were imposed, but the Home Office is concerned that the numbers have remained static since then. A no-deal Brexit is likely to wreak havoc with the system if visas are imposed for all passengers travelling between the UK and the EU, and airline staff have to police them. |
| The rules cost the airline industry millions each year in training, technology, staffing and sanctions, but it is passengers who pay the ultimate price. Those denied boarding because of doubts over their paperwork may not be entitled to claim statutory compensation from the airline, even if it made the wrong decision. A disproportionate number of those passengers are ethnic minority immigrants who face losing the cost of a holiday because airline staff are left to police borders. Ali Nazari (not his real name) and his British wife were deprived of a holiday in Austria when easyJet refused to let him board, insisting he needed a visa to travel within the EU. The marine engineer holds a residence permit and a visa is not required in his case. | The rules cost the airline industry millions each year in training, technology, staffing and sanctions, but it is passengers who pay the ultimate price. Those denied boarding because of doubts over their paperwork may not be entitled to claim statutory compensation from the airline, even if it made the wrong decision. A disproportionate number of those passengers are ethnic minority immigrants who face losing the cost of a holiday because airline staff are left to police borders. Ali Nazari (not his real name) and his British wife were deprived of a holiday in Austria when easyJet refused to let him board, insisting he needed a visa to travel within the EU. The marine engineer holds a residence permit and a visa is not required in his case. |
| Meanwhile, Aadila Ghali (not her real name) and her husband missed a friend’s wedding in Poland after Wizz Air staff at Luton told her that her UK travel document and residence permit were insufficient. The couple called the Polish embassy from the airport and staff there confirmed to Wizz Air that a visa was not required, but the airline refused to back down. | Meanwhile, Aadila Ghali (not her real name) and her husband missed a friend’s wedding in Poland after Wizz Air staff at Luton told her that her UK travel document and residence permit were insufficient. The couple called the Polish embassy from the airport and staff there confirmed to Wizz Air that a visa was not required, but the airline refused to back down. |
| “They said they do not allow anyone with a travel document, even with a visa, to travel to Poland,” she says. “When I asked them to show me this on their website, they didn’t have any answer.” | “They said they do not allow anyone with a travel document, even with a visa, to travel to Poland,” she says. “When I asked them to show me this on their website, they didn’t have any answer.” |
| EasyJet says Nazari was barred in error. “There are varying types of residence permits and combinations of documents required in order for us to be able to allow travel and this is sometimes complex,” it says. “On further investigation it is clear he should have been able to travel and we will arrange a refund of his flight and compensation.” | EasyJet says Nazari was barred in error. “There are varying types of residence permits and combinations of documents required in order for us to be able to allow travel and this is sometimes complex,” it says. “On further investigation it is clear he should have been able to travel and we will arrange a refund of his flight and compensation.” |
| Wizz Air now claims that Ghali was denied boarding because she produced a copy of her residence permit rather than the original, an allegation Ghali denies. | Wizz Air now claims that Ghali was denied boarding because she produced a copy of her residence permit rather than the original, an allegation Ghali denies. |
| Warrier says his experience cost him far more than the holiday he lost. “I’ve travelled widely and, as an Indian citizen, have had to apply for several visas, but I’ve never been barred from travelling anywhere before,” he says. | Warrier says his experience cost him far more than the holiday he lost. “I’ve travelled widely and, as an Indian citizen, have had to apply for several visas, but I’ve never been barred from travelling anywhere before,” he says. |
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