Yorkshire mother and son left almost £3,000 out of pocket due to minor visa issue
A mother and son from Leeds were prevented from starting their trip back home to Bolivia because they did not have visas for two brief stop overs at airports in Europe.
Miriam Flores Gallardo, 49, and her student son Elias Moises Sanches Flores, 26, were flying to their homeland for a family visit and a wedding.
But they were prevented from boarding at Manchester because they were stopping in Brussels and Madrid airports for a connection to Cochabamba in Bolivia.
Now they are being refused a refund on their £2,700 tickets from the booking agent Trip.com and Brussels Airlines.
They say that the sales agents should have pointed out the issue. They were later told that under Schengen Area border control rules they could make one connection but not two without a visa.
They later bought £3,000 tickets to fly a different route which did not require two stops.
Ms Gallardo’s partner Gary Broadhead of Huddersfield said it was unfair that they were being penalised, particularly as English is his partner’s second language.
He urged other people in similar circumstances planning similar trips to be aware of the rules.
Ms Gallardo has British citizenship but her son’s application has not yet been processed.
And because her son was the lead name on the tickets, she could not travel without him.
A Trip.com spokesman said: “We are genuinely sorry to hear about the distressing experience this family went through and fully understand how upsetting this must have been, particularly when travelling for an important family occasion.
“Our investigation confirms that the customer booked a journey involving separately issued tickets, including two transit points within the Schengen Area.
"These types of self-transfer itineraries may require specific visa types depending on the traveller’s nationality — even when transiting through the airport.
“During the booking process, our platform provided multiple reminders to check visa and entry requirements.
"These prompts appeared during payment and were reiterated in the booking confirmation email, encouraging customers to consult official sources, such as embassies, for the most up-to-date guidance.
“As no service failure occurred and the itinerary was issued as selected, the tickets remain non-refundable apart from a recoverable portion of taxes and fees, in accordance with the fare conditions accepted at the time of booking.
“Our customer service team has since followed up to explain the options available and to offer any further assistance within the scope of our policy.”
A Brussels Airline spokesman said: “It is very unfortunate what happened to this family, but passengers are at all times responsible for ensuring they have the necessary and valid travel documents (passports, visas,…) for their entire journey, including any connections. This requirement is also outlined on our website.
“In this particular case, the itinerary included two connections within the Schengen Area (Brussels and Madrid), which indeed required a double-entry Schengen visa.”
The Schengen Area is a system of open borders that encompass 29 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders.