[barno]

Last night I took my wife to Heathrow to travel to Sao Paulo on the overnight flight. My wife is 29 weeks pregnant and had been given written certification by our NHS midwife that she was fit to travel. Despite having all of the necessary paperwork, the Station Manager Gilda Ponde refused to allow my wife onto the flight.

Another TAM employee by the name of 'Jefferson' proceeded to display aggressive and threatening behaviour towards me. It is quite clear that employees of this airline receive no customer service training, and have no idea what professional conduct means.

Eventually, only after the Heathrow BAA security staff were called, who managed to reason with the airline that their behaviour was ridiculous (and a phonecall from our midwife saying that in all the years she has worked as a midwife she has never heard of an airline not accepting their official fit to travel letter) my wife was let on the flight.

Gilda Ponde claimed that she was protecting the interests of my wife's health whereas she and the other TAM employees, particularly the aggressive caveman Jefferson, put my wife and new baby under considerable stress and adversely affected her health. If you are pregnant or with a baby and thinking of travelling with Tam or even just want a professional airline to travel with, think again before choosing Tam! And Tam, shame on you!!!