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An Auckland student's family claims to have lost thousands of dollars after Qatar Airways refused to let her board a flight at Auckland Airport in January.
Zara Kazemi Yazdi requested a wheelchair when she booked a return flight before Christmas with the airline to Tehran via Doha from Auckland in the new year as a surgical procedure on a toenail was scheduled prior to departure.
The 22-year-old student checked her luggage in and received a boarding pass to depart Auckland on 11 January.
After inquiring about the wheelchair she had requested, check-in staff asked her why one was needed.
"I had a medical certificate for my toe," Kazemi Yazdi told RNZ. "I presented all of that, and the flight attendant asked me for extra medical history."
Kazemi Yazdi provided more information, which included a fainting episode she experienced a year earlier in Australia on a particularly hot day.
One Qatar Airways staff member said Kazemi Yazdi looked "pale", adding that the carrier's medical team would need to be consulted before the student would be allowed to board the flight.
The medical team decided Kazemi Yazdi was unfit to fly without a certificate from her GP.
Having visited her local medical centre earlier the same day, Kazemi Yazdi called the clinic and managed to get a doctor's note shortly before it closed.
The note, sighted by RNZ, stated that Kazemi Yazdi had minor toe surgery and "is fit to fly with no restrictions, but would benefit from wheelchair assistance".
The Qatar Airways staff member refused to accept the certificate because it did not explicitly state that Kazemi Yazdi was physically seen the same day.
The staffer also turned down Kazemi Yazdi's request to be examined by the carrier's medical team.
"The entire time, I was very distraught," Kazemi Yazdi said. "It was quite traumatic and very depressing and stressful."
Kazemi Yazdi booked a seat on another airline to fly out the next day as tickets that same day were expensive.
The student departed the next day without incident.
Kazemi Yazdi's mother, Maryam Li, filed a complaint with Qatar Airways in February, demanding an apology, a refund and compensation for the difference in airfares.
Li said the refund and compensation amounted to around $6500.
"She was perfectly healthy on the day. Did they have any reason to deny her boarding?" she said.
"In this case, we followed all the regulations of the airline as passengers, and it was not our fault."
The airline's customer care team said Kazemi Yazdi was "denied boarding based on an assessment by Medlink due to an undiagnosed health condition that causes fainting episodes", referring to an aviation medical advisory service.
The airline asked Li to apply for a refund through the company's website, which would cost her roughly $900 in cancellation fees.
Li complained to the Civil Aviation Authority and Commerce Commission but was told neither organisation could help.
After RNZ contacted Qatar Airways for comment, the carrier offered to waive Li's cancellation fee.
In a reply to RNZ, a spokesperson of Qatar Airways said the carrier had contacted Kazemi Yazdi following a medical recommendation that she should not board the flight.
"The safety and comfort of our passengers is our top priority, and we have offered Ms Kazemi Yazdi a full refund of her ticket, waiving any penalty or fees," the spokesperson said.
A Consumer New Zealand spokesperson said Qatar Airways could refuse to carry passengers for a variety of reasons under the carrier's conditions of carriage, including situations in which a passenger's physical state meant they required special assistance.
"However, the conditions of carriage also state that passengers who have advised the airline of any special requirements at the time of ticketing won't be refused carriage on the basis of their disability or special requirements," the spokesperson said.
"Where a passenger is denied boarding, they are entitled to compensation in accordance with the applicable convention, ... law and the airline's regulations," the spokesperson said.
"If there has been no fault on the part of the passenger, we would expect this compensation to at least cover any additional expenses incurred by the passenger in getting to their destination," the spokesperson said.
"If a passenger believes the compensation they've received is inadequate, they can lodge a claim with the Disputes Tribunal."
Li said she would consider taking the case to the Disputes Tribunal as a last resort.
