Denied Check-in at Heathrow 65 min before flight
My flight was at 19:05 I knew that LHR is a busy airport and decided to get there two hours early, even thought I didn’t have any checked baggage. Unfortunately, due to works on the tube I was delayed and arrived at Heathrow minutes before 18:00. I sprinted to the check in counter in Terminal 3 but only saw one employees shutting down the desk. I saw the self-check kiosks and ran to one at just a couple of minutes past 18:00, not yet 18:05 mind you. The kiosk was non responsive and said it had been shut at 18:00. I then went to the desk, and asked the attendant to check me in. He was dismissive, rude and kept repeating that I should come back the next morning and that I had missed my flight then promptly walked off behind a security door. I knocked on the door and he essentially told me to ‘bugger off’
Despondent, I was forced to stay in London overnight and take the 9:00 flight at a re-booking cost of 86 pounds. I missed a day of work, was forced to pay for a hotel, and my re-booking costs, plus the stress of missing a day of work.
There are two major glaring problems with this situation.
First, Air Canada's own travel documents state that check-in cutoff time is 60 min. The self-serve kiosks were shut at 16:00, 65 minutes before departure. If you they been consistent with your own stated rules, I would have been able to print my boarding pass.
Secondly is the startlingly rude and uncaring attitude of the Air Canada staff. I was offered not a shred of sympathy for my obvious distress and he showed absolutely no inclination to problem solve and assist me in catching my flight. Frankly I was shocked that I was treated in such a manner and it left an incredibly bad taste in my mouth about the Air Canada brand and flying experience.
In fairness I should be refunded the entire cost of my ticket and the re-booking charge. I know that this may well never happen, but I sent a letter of complaint to Air Canada, but am not holding my breath.
Does anyone have any feedback if I have a legitimate complaint or will they just say that I wasn't there in time?
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