73-year-old ailing woman stopped boarding US flight at Bengaluru airport over mismatching name in passport and Covid Vaccination certificate

A 73 year old Mysuru woman was reportedly denied boarding by the ground staff of British Airways at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru citing mismatch of name in her passport against the name on the Covid-19 Vaccination certificate, a report said.

According to the report, the ground staff alleged that unlike in her passport, the intials of her name hadn’t been expanded on the Covid-19 vaccination certificate issued by CoWin portal.

The woman was heading to Miami with her husband and daughter to celebrate her 43rd wedding anniversary. Her family alleged that the unprecedented move by airline staff based on a non -existent rule, made the ailing 70 year old spent alone a day in Bengaluru airport. It was only on the next day that she could board on the flight to the U.S.

The incident occurred early Sunday morning when TK Saraswathy and her husband VN Srinivasa Murthy, 81, the former director of University of Mysore, and their daughter Rupa Murthy, a US national, reached the check-in counter of British Airways which also operated American Airlines flights from Bengaluru, a Times of India report said.

The family was scheduled to travel on American Airlines flight AA 6656 (Bengaluru to Miami via London and Chicago) and had booked business class seats so that the senior citizens, including Saraswathy who is a heart patient, could fly in comfort, the report said.