INDIFFERENCE IN MOSCOW

I was boarding the 1745 Aeroflot flight SU212 to Hong Kong from Moscow on February 17. The display board above the gate said“Hong Kong – boarding now”.

After going through the gate, it turned out we needed to go down two floors and catch a bus before reaching the plane. Ticket checking was actually taking place right before bus boarding, but because of the wait for buses, the whole staircase was packed with people. By the time I reached the ticket-checking staff, I was told boarding for Hong Kong had finished!

The staff waved me back upstairs, without telling me where to find help, and despite the fact the gate display was still saying “Hong Kong –boarding now”.

I found my way to the transit area, where four others trying to get to Hong Kong joined me. All of us were confused and wondering why we were declined boarding.

Aeroflot’s handling of the aftermath was even worse. We were asked why we hadn’t made our connection in time. We explained about the blockage, and that we hadn’t heard a final boarding call, but Aeroflot staff seemed indifferent to our plight and proceeded slowly.

Two travellers were offered tickets to catch the 2130 flight to Beijing, from where they could transfer to Hong Kong. The rest of us were told to wait 20 minutes for the general manager’s decision.

It was 2025, meaning we still had time to buy our own tickets for the Beijing flight if Aeroflot refused to offer us tickets, so agreed to wait. After 25 minutes, we asked a different staff member what was going on. They had no idea, so we had to repeat our story and were again asked to wait. At 2200, after repeated checking on our part, we were told the next flight to Hong Kong would be the following day.

At around 2345 the verdict was finally out: two passengers were given free tickets, while I was told I would have to pay for my new ticket. I proceeded to the counter, where I was made to put three signatures on a Russian document I didn’t understand.

The next step was to retrieve our luggage, but the staff had no clue as to its whereabouts. Originally they told us the luggage had been transferred to a special area and would take a while to get; the next moment they said I could get it immediately. We were assured our luggage wouldn’t have left Moscow without us, but as it turned out, one of my fellow stranded passengers did have his luggage flown to Hong Kong.

Aeroflot didn’t provide dinner or accommodation and those who couldn’t afford a hotel were forced to sleep in the airport. The whole ordeal took over 3.5 hours. I was totally worn out and frustrated. I can’t believe airline staff could be so indifferent to a customer’s needs. Wanda Yuen, Hong Kong

Business Traveller Asia-Pacific made several attempts to contact Aeroflot but did not receive a response.