Sent to wrong gate and missed flight - Help

kevandlin

Hiya Everyone
I'm really hoping someone can give us some help and advice please.

Ill start from the beginning, Me and my Husband booked a cruise for our honeymoon and had pre booked airport assistance with our travel agent as i am in a wheelchair and we needed the help.

We got to the airport and checked in and were told to go through customs and directed to the special assistance area. We found our way there and went up to the desk and this woman (we have her first name) wrote down on our boarding pass the gate number we would need for our flight. She also directed us to where we could find the lounges (hubby booked one so id be away from to much noise etc and coz it was our honeymoon). She then told us what time to leave the lounge, what direction to turn,and how long it would take us to get to our gate.
We got to the lounge and when it was time to leave we went to our gate. when we got there we were told the plane was delayed so we would have to wait. We sat in the waiting area and i called my mum to say our plane was delayed so she wouldn't worry if we didn't land on time.

When the air stewards turned up Kev started to push me and our bags over to board and as we got closer they started to unroll a banner that said a different destination to ours and i said were not going here were going blah blah blah.
The guy at the gate looked horrified and said your at the wrong gate and i showed him our boarding pass with the gate number written on and he said someones put the wrong number on your pass!!
Our hearts absolutely filled with dread because we had just been sitting waiting and told the wrong plane was delayed and it was way passed boarding time for the gate we should of been at.

My husband ran from one end of the airport to the other at a hundred miles an hour with me and when we finally got there we were told our plane left 10mins ago!!! I burst into tears!! The man that told us this said we put out 5 announcements for you both and we said where we had been and showed him our boarding pass. He said he spoke to an official in the area at the wrong gate and they said no announcement had been made in the area for us!!
This man took us back to the special assistance area and i was crying and i don't deal well with that much stress as my muscles start to spasm. Someone from the airline company came over to us and asked what happened and we had to explain everything and i was panicking like mad because we were going on a cruise and the next day was a sea day they were saying we may have to fly into the next island so we would miss out on 2 days or more of our honeymoon!!!! We were then told there was a later flight and they were seeing if they could fit us on and if it would land in time before the ship disembarked.

During this wait that was quite long anyway and seemed even longer to us we were told the original woman that wrote the wrong gate number on our boarding pass and sent us in the wrong direction had done it many times before!! She also never told us that we could of been given a special buzzer thing to alert you to come back to special assistance to have someone escort us to the gate.

They managed to contact the ship and it would still be docked when the later flight could get us there. They said we hadn't got seats together yet but they would contact the gate and let them know the situation so we could sit together which we would of been on our proper flight which as its our honeymoon and also i have injections to do that my Husband helps me with.

When we got to the gate they said there were no seats available together and we would be on our own in different sections on the airplane but they would contact the stewards. When we got to the plane door and we were escorted this time by a different special assistance person the stewards said the plane was full and nothing could be done and i just burst into tear again i couldn't help it this was the relaxing start to our honeymoon we wanted.
Eventually the stewards found 2 single passengers sat in opposite aisle seats who were willing to swap with us (lovely people). It still was not good after what we had been through when i really needed my husbands support to not be right next to each other but i was just glad we had got that close.

My muscles were still spasming and i was totally exhausted during the flight and knew this would all take a big toll on my illness and that not what i wanted as id been resting for a couple of weeks previous just so id be up to it. It was also on my mind will our suitcases be there ok as they took them off the flight we should of been on and put them on this one but its still a stress in case it got messed up.
when we got to the ship it was between 8 -8.30 pm and we should of been there 3.45pm

Basically it was hell,stressful and very upsetting,tiring, i ended up with such muscle pain,totally exhausted and it was a once in a lifetime holiday for us as we would never normally be able to afford it as we were given some money as gifts for our wedding and used money my nan left me.

We want to make a complaint and i think we deserve compensation and also it needs to be stopped from happening again as it sounds like its happened many times before. We have no experience with making complaints about things and need some help on what to do and how to go about it.

Many many thanks everyone for reading this I'm sorry it was so long.:)

Caz3121

I don;t think you will be covered by EU compensation as it is always the passengers responsibility to present themselves at the gate and the flight was not delayed or cancelled

I have been on flights where the gate has changed from the one printed on the boarding card so tend to always check the screens in the airport departures (which will also normally advise of any delays)

It sounds like they transferred you onto the later flight without you having to purchase a new ticket which I guess was the correct think for them to do considering the confusion was caused by someone in the airport.

I personally would write a letter of complaint with the key information from here and see what they come up with (but don't be surprised if they say "the gate was changed, all the boards were correct, we were calling for you...sorry)

Vauban

I can see that this was very stressful, and it was v unhelpful to be sent to the wrong gate.

But it is your responsibility to check you flight boarding - it's on the departures board, after all. If when you arrived at the right gate you were told that the flight left ten minutes previously it sounds like you were cutting it far too fine. You should be at the ate at least 30 minutes before departure.

Presumably your failure to present yourself at the right gate caused a delay to all the people on your original flight, as your luggage had to be offloaded. Not great for them either!

You are very, very lucky to have caught a flight that still made your cruise connection. To be honest, whether they could sit you next to your husband must have been a secondary consideration.

Sounds like they did a lot to accommodate you. I think if you write a letter it should be to say thank you!

jpsartre

The gate on the BP may not even have been wrong at the time it was written down, it's not uncommon for them to be changed prior to departure. I don't understand how someone can spend a decent amount of time in an airport and not once check the screen for the status of their flight/gate number.

blondmark

kevandlin wrote: »

Hiya Everyone
I'm really hoping someone can give us some help and advice please.

Ill start from the beginning, Me and my Husband booked a cruise for our honeymoon and had pre booked airport assistance with our travel agent as i am in a wheelchair and we needed the help.

We got to the airport and checked in and were told to go through customs and directed to the special assistance area. We found our way there and went up to the desk and this woman (we have her first name) wrote down on our boarding pass the gate number we would need for our flight. She also directed us to where we could find the lounges (hubby booked one so id be away from to much noise etc and coz it was our honeymoon). She then told us what time to leave the lounge, what direction to turn,and how long it would take us to get to our gate.
We got to the lounge and when it was time to leave we went to our gate. when we got there we were told the plane was delayed so we would have to wait. We sat in the waiting area and i called my mum to say our plane was delayed so she wouldn't worry if we didn't land on time.

When the air stewards turned up Kev started to push me and our bags over to board and as we got closer they started to unroll a banner that said a different destination to ours and i said were not going here were going blah blah blah.
The guy at the gate looked horrified and said your at the wrong gate and i showed him our boarding pass with the gate number written on and he said someones put the wrong number on your pass!!
Our hearts absolutely filled with dread because we had just been sitting waiting and told the wrong plane was delayed and it was way passed boarding time for the gate we should of been at.

My husband ran from one end of the airport to the other at a hundred miles an hour with me and when we finally got there we were told our plane left 10mins ago!!! I burst into tears!! The man that told us this said we put out 5 announcements for you both and we said where we had been and showed him our boarding pass. He said he spoke to an official in the area at the wrong gate and they said no announcement had been made in the area for us!!
This man took us back to the special assistance area and i was crying and i don't deal well with that much stress as my muscles start to spasm. Someone from the airline company came over to us and asked what happened and we had to explain everything and i was panicking like mad because we were going on a cruise and the next day was a sea day they were saying we may have to fly into the next island so we would miss out on 2 days or more of our honeymoon!!!! We were then told there was a later flight and they were seeing if they could fit us on and if it would land in time before the ship disembarked.

During this wait that was quite long anyway and seemed even longer to us we were told the original woman that wrote the wrong gate number on our boarding pass and sent us in the wrong direction had done it many times before!! She also never told us that we could of been given a special buzzer thing to alert you to come back to special assistance to have someone escort us to the gate.

They managed to contact the ship and it would still be docked when the later flight could get us there. They said we hadn't got seats together yet but they would contact the gate and let them know the situation so we could sit together which we would of been on our proper flight which as its our honeymoon and also i have injections to do that my Husband helps me with.

When we got to the gate they said there were no seats available together and we would be on our own in different sections on the airplane but they would contact the stewards. When we got to the plane door and we were escorted this time by a different special assistance person the stewards said the plane was full and nothing could be done and i just burst into tear again i couldn't help it this was the relaxing start to our honeymoon we wanted.
Eventually the stewards found 2 single passengers sat in opposite aisle seats who were willing to swap with us (lovely people). It still was not good after what we had been through when i really needed my husbands support to not be right next to each other but i was just glad we had got that close.

My muscles were still spasming and i was totally exhausted during the flight and knew this would all take a big toll on my illness and that not what i wanted as id been resting for a couple of weeks previous just so id be up to it. It was also on my mind will our suitcases be there ok as they took them off the flight we should of been on and put them on this one but its still a stress in case it got messed up.
when we got to the ship it was between 8 -8.30 pm and we should of been there 3.45pm

Basically it was hell,stressful and very upsetting,tiring, i ended up with such muscle pain,totally exhausted and it was a once in a lifetime holiday for us as we would never normally be able to afford it as we were given some money as gifts for our wedding and used money my nan left me.

We want to make a complaint and i think we deserve compensation and also it needs to be stopped from happening again as it sounds like its happened many times before. We have no experience with making complaints about things and need some help on what to do and how to go about it.

Many many thanks everyone for reading this I'm sorry it was so long.:)

My muscles went into spasms just reading that horror story! Well I'm going to disagree with everyone else and cite the tortious and equitable remedy of detrimental reliance. Essentially when somebody makes a representation (e.g. sends you to a wrong gate) that you rely on and act on to your detriment, you may bring a legal action in respect of that detriment against that person, or their company which has a vicarious liability, for sending you to the wrong gate.

OK you could also have checked notice boards but you heard no announcements and it is not unreasonable to have relied on a genuine boarding pass erroneously issued by a careless, but nevertheless, authorised official.

However, in this instance you do not appear to have suffered a financial loss - you made the plane, albeit late and in a flustered state.

I think you could win that claim but your damages wouldn't be high enough to compensate you for that drama plus the further muscle spasms you'd inevitably suffer in a court trial.

Vauban

blondmark wrote: »

My muscles went into spasms just reading that horror story! Well I'm going to disagree with everyone else and cite the tortious and equitable remedy of detrimental reliance. Essentially when somebody makes a representation (e.g. sends you to a wrong gate) that you rely on and act on to your detriment, you may bring a legal action in respect of that detriment against that person, or their company which has a vicarious liability, for sending you to the wrong gate.

OK you could also have checked notice boards but you heard no announcements and it is not unreasonable to have relied on a genuine boarding pass erroneously issued by a careless, but nevertheless, authorised official.

However, in this instance you do not appear to have suffered a financial loss - you made the plane, albeit late and in a flustered state.

I think you could win that claim but your damages wouldn't be high enough to compensate you for that drama plus the further muscle spasms you'd inevitably suffer in a court trial.

I think that the airline might argue you are expected to present yourself at the gate in a timely fashion. The OP went to one gate, found it was incorrect, and went to the right gate - to find the plane left ten minutes previously (and that's after they unloaded their suitcases, which will have caused a significant further delay). That suggests they they not only presented themselves at the wrong gate, but were also very late.


So I don't think the OP is owed a dime - but might like to apologise to all the passengers whose flight s/he delayed.

photome

Vauban wrote: »

I think that the airline might argue you are expected to present yourself at the gate in a timely fashion. The OP went to one gate, found it was incorrect, and went to the right gate - to find the plane left ten minutes previously (and that's after they unloaded their suitcases, which will have caused a significant further delay). That suggests they they not only presented themselves at the wrong gate, but were also very late.


So I don't think the OP is owed a dime - but might like to apologise to all the passengers whose flight s/he delayed.

Did you read the OP? the OP went the wrong gate after they were told about a delay.no delay and they would have been at the wrong gate in plenty of time.

I do agree however that there is no way i would be relying on someone writing the gate number on my ticket, I would be checking the screens constantly.

Is the OP due any compo, probably not altho they were partially responsible but the OP did get to the cruise on time

withabix

The failing may be down to the airport or a 3rd party handling company, hence the holiday company or airline will probably want to know about this in order to improve their customer service and prevent this from happening again and will undoubtedly send you an apology and a small gift or flowers etc.

I would write to them, but this isn't really a 'compensation' issue.

Vauban

photome wrote: »

Did you read the OP? the OP went the wrong gate after they were told about a delay.no delay and they would have been at the wrong gate in plenty of time.

I do agree however that there is no way i would be relying on someone writing the gate number on my ticket, I would be checking the screens constantly.

Is the OP due any compo, probably not altho they were partially responsible but the OP did get to the cruise on time

My bad - I see that now (it's quite a long post!). I agree with you that it doesn't change the fundamental point that you need to keep checking the departure boards: gates change all the time.

Do you really think the OP deserves compensation? I don't. It's largely their failure, and the airline were good enough to make sure they caught their ship. Quite lucky, really.

blondmark

Vauban wrote: »

I think that the airline might argue you are expected to present yourself at the gate in a timely fashion. The OP went to one gate, found it was incorrect, and went to the right gate - to find the plane left ten minutes previously (and that's after they unloaded their suitcases, which will have caused a significant further delay). That suggests they they not only presented themselves at the wrong gate, but were also very late.


So I don't think the OP is owed a dime - but might like to apologise to all the passengers whose flight s/he delayed.

I'm not sure their claim would be against the airline. Her story is a bit vague about who wrote the wrong gate number, but it appeared to be someone in the special assistance area. It is the company that operates this area, whose employee negligently sent them in the wrong direction, they would claim against - presumably the airport authority.

A lot of the posts here are subjective judgements about what the poster sees would be a fair outcome and/or blaming the passengers despite their perfectly reasonable reliance on a genuine boarding pass negligently issued by an official.

However the question is not 'Do you think these passengers are a pair of silly cows?' but instead they're asking 'Do they have a claim?' In strict legal terms yes.

The official who wrote the wrong gate number committed a negligent act, and this was relied upon by the passengers to their detriment. It's a classic case of detrimental reliance which is on all fours with Central London Property Trust Ltd. v. High Trees House Ltd. [1947] KB 130.

Damages for emotional upheaval and the ruined honeymoon happens to be another Lord Denning case Jackson v Horizon Holidays [1975] 3 All ER 92. However as mentioned I cannot see those damages being attractive enough to sue for, since the sailing was not ultimately missed and the emotional upset only temporary.

peachyprice

blondmark wrote: »

The official who wrote the wrong gate number committed a negligent act, and this was relied upon by the passengers to their detriment. It's a classic case of detrimental reliance which is on all fours with Central London Property Trust Ltd. v. High Trees House Ltd. [1947] KB 130.

Not necessarily. The person who wrote the number of the boarding card may have done so based on correct information available to them at that time.

Granted, they should have advised the OP that the gate may change and to keep an eye on the screens, but don't most travellers do that anyway?