A heavily pregnant woman has been forced to spend the night sleeping in a bus shelter with her two-year-old-son after Tigerair refused to allow her to fly home to Melbourne – even though she had travelled to Sydney just two days earlier.
Aileen Chand and her husband Sharneet spent the weekend in Sydney with their two-year-old son Jacob before their second child is born. Ms Chand had cleared her travel with a doctor and carried a medical certificate with her.
The family-of-three boarded the TT252 flight from Melbourne on Friday night and arrived in Sydney at 5pm, at this stage Ms Chand was technically still 34 weeks pregnant.
On Sunday when they went to return home they were shocked to be stopped from boarding the Tigerair flight in Sydney.
Her husband Sharneet wrote on Facebook that when they were called to board they were asked to step aside.
“After scanning the Boarding pass the staff member named DIANA requested to see the medical certificate. We presented her with the Medical Clearance but she was still not satisfied and asked us to step aside. She then contacted her supervisor CAITLYN reading to her what the medical certificate said. CAITLYN immediately responded by saying “no she cant fly” although Tiger had agreed to fly us on the same medical clearance the day before from Melbourne to Sydney. I asked them why cant we go back home on the same clearance to which DIANA responded ” you can take your 2 year old and go home but your wife will need to find a doctor and get a clearance! ”
Ms Chand told Seven News “The lady let my husband and son pass and she had a stern look and said ‘are you pregnant?'”
“I was gobsmacked, it was very rude.”
“I was really taken aback by the tone of the attendant and it came across, I said ‘of course, I am 34 weeks’.
“I handed her the medical certificate and she called through to a colleague who said not to let me on and that I would have to find a doctor in Sydney to write me a certificate to fly back to Melbourne.
“We stood there for 20 minutes trying to explain we had used the same certificate just two days before on the flight up to Sydney.”
“The staff suggested my son and husband fly back to Melbourne without me and I became very distressed, I don’t drive and never travel alone. There was a lot of commotion and my little boy was getting very distressed, it was horrible and clearly wrong that they wanted to separate a young family like that.”
The family were told that they needed to obtain another doctor’s certificate if they wished to board the flight on Monday morning. With no other choice they left.
“We were upset and confused because the medical certificate had been accepted by staff in Melbourne, why not in Sydney?” Mr Chand told Seven News.
Mr Chand took to Facebook on Sunday night to post a picture of his heavily pregnant wife asleep in a bus shelter.
“I asked CAITLYN if Tiger could give us an accommodation as my wife and child were both very exhausted and we had no money to book any last minute accommodations. To which she responded ” you accommodation is not our problem we can only put you on another flight in the morning” So here I m.. sleeping at a bus stop with my 34 week pregnant wife and a hungry 2 year old son. I m very appalled by the negligence of your Duty of Care for your customers. Especially a pregnant woman and a 2 year old kid.
SHAME SHAME ON YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC STAFF!!”
After a few hours of sleeping at the bus shelter they were finally picked up by a family friend and given accommodation for the night.
“Our little one was getting very agitated and wanted milk. We were at the bus stop for about two hours before family friends from Oakhurst could get to the airport to pick us up, we were stranded.” they said.
The family finally flew home to Melbourne yesterday on Jetstar.
Tiger Airways spokesman told Seven News that Ms Chand was refused entry to the flight going back to Melbourne because she was one day into her 35th week of pregnancy .
The company policy states that passengers who are 30-34 weeks pregnant need a medical certificate.
But pregnant women are not allow to fly from the beginning of the 35th week.
“The safety, comfort and wellbeing of our customers is Tigerair Australia’s top priority and we never compromise on our safety standards.” the spokesman said.
“Our pregnancy policy states that medical certification is required for Tigerair Australia customers who are flying between 30 – 34 weeks pregnant and that flying is not permitted from the beginning of the 35th week.
“All airline policies are different which is why it is important to check the relevant detail on the website.
“Tigerair Australia apologises sincerely to the family for the inconvenience and in this instance, will contact them directly to offer a full refund for their full travel expenses.”
Jetstar allows passengers to travel up to 40 weeks as long as the flight is under four hours long and they have a valid medical certificate.
Top Comments
1. She only flew interstate. Between Sydney and Melbourne. Not overseas.
2. Her doctor cleared her. She even had a medical clearance certificate.
I myself would not fly at that late stage. But, she had the presence of mind to ensure she had a medical clearance, and it was only between 2 states. She checked up and ensured she met medical requirements ahead of time. Why are people attacking her?
Because it is an exaggerated dramatisation and the standard Facebook whoa is me victim story looking for sympathy or a refund because a company followed their published terms and conditions which the customer should have known when buying a ticket and now wants compensation for their ignorance.
But as the story shows, the company did NOT follow their own terms and conditions. The woman followed the terms and conditions to the letter, as it were, with a letter from her GP. Can't get more non-ignorant than that. Clearly she followed the terms and conditions, the company, did not follow their own terms and conditions.
Why didn't they go i into the airport. They didn't need to sleep in a bus shelter. And obviously they had friends in Sydney as they got picked up. Nothing like a bit of over dramatization.