We had all the right documents but weren’t allowed to board our flight
My brother, his wife and young son were denied boarding when flying to Botswana for our mother’s funeral in December. Now Qatar Airways is refusing to refund the flight they missed, or the new one they booked to get to the service. My brother’s wife is a Philippines national and was eligible for a two-week visa issued on arrival in Botswana. They were travelling with all the documentation Botswana immigration officials had advised would be necessary.
Qatar Airways, however, had no knowledge of its system of issuing visas at port of entry, introduced in 2019. When check-in staff refused to accept the documents, my brother phoned the authorities at the destination airport in Maun and they emailed a stamped letter confirming the arrangements. They even offered to talk to Qatar staff, but this was refused. It was only after he obtained emailed letters from Botswana’s deputy director of immigration and the consul general that the airline agreed to let the family travel.
