Travel agent’s spelling mistake strands mom and toddler in Iran

B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal orders Richmond company to pay $1,100 for negligence Arman Aria had planned a big party to celebrate his son’s second birthday. But instead of spending the day with friends and family in Metro Vancouver, little Arad and his mother were stranded in Iran — all because of a travel agent’s spelling mistake. An employee at Richmond’s Plan-It With Pam Holidays had misspelled Arad’s middle name on his airline tickets and did nothing to correct it when the family pointed out the error, according to a recent decision from the Civil Resolution Tribunal. Last week, the tribunal awarded Aria more than $1,100 from the travel company, after finding it responsible for leaving mother and son stuck in Iran for two days. Aria said he was happy with the ruling, but “the pain and frustration, the money isn’t going to cover that.” The family had booked the tickets over the telephone in October 2017, according to the decision. When Aria’s wife, Azadeh Lotfifar, visited Plan-It With Pam’s offices, she noticed Arad’s middle name was spelled wrong. She pointed it out, but an employee told her “that the middle name is not always that important, as airlines look at the first and last names,” according to tribunal member Kate Campbell. Lotfifar and the little boy flew to Iran on Lufthansa without a problem, but their return trip on Dec. 1 was booked with British Airways. When mother and son arrived for their flight, they were turned away. Aria remembers getting the call from his wife in Iran. It was “awful,” he told CBC. “The whole time my son was crying in the airport,” Aria said. The little boy was worn down after a month of travelling, and “he was constantly crying because he was sick.”