Incompetent Check-in Lufthansa Staff at New Delhi airport.

[schwdhry]

I would like to highlight a very recent issue against Lufthansa ground staff employed at the Check In counter at
Terminal 3 of IGIA, New Delhi. My wife and daughter were travelling from Delhi to Dublin on
08/12/2011 via Munich and Frankfurt (DEL - MUC - FRA - DUB).
An issue which had arisen where by she was not being allowed to
fly as she was not in possession of a Schenghan visa. As par the German
Embassy website in Ireland she is not required to carry a visa if she has a valid residence permit for
Ireland. I had even referred to the link from the German Embassy highlighting this (via telephone):
http://www.dublin.diplo.de/contentbl...rt_transit.pdf
It had specifically mentioned the case for residence permit holiders for Ireland.
My wife was holding a valid residence permit and should be allowed to fly back to Ireland. First of
all the ground staff were refusing to let her fly based on incorrect information. They even suggested
that she return back home, and to arrange an alternate flight via FRA for change of flight fee.
Perhaps, the checkin counter staff were working on a commission for getting passengers to change
flights on a different route - but this I am speculating and cannot say as a fact.
I even contacted the German Embassy in Dublin during the day, and they confirmed that my wife did not
require a visa. They even produced a document that my wife could carry - even though it was too late.
First of all it is quite daunting to be travelling alone with a small child, then to be refused to fly
on incorrect information. Then the trauma that she had to face in Delhi airport, the family in Delhi
and myself (who was in Dublin). I really feel that a compensation of some sort should be the least
that Lufthansa India could offer for the incompetence and acting on the behest of incorrect
information.