Emirates Airlines Now Reveals Why They Actually Stopped Shikhar Dhawan And His Family
Time and tide, the tales of never-ending clashes between the airlines and celebrities. Be it the cultural differences or the attires, Indian have faced severe circumstances on various occasions. Popular faces like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan were even troubled earlier and though most of the times the issue was limited to actors, it now came down to sportsmen.
Now, coming to the present situation, it is Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan’s tour of South Africa got off to a less-than-happy start when his wife Aesha and their children were not allowed to board a flight for South Africa from Dubai. While all the other team members and their families have reportedly reached Cape Town, where India will play their first Test from January 5, it seems that Dhawan’s family was not allowed to board the flight by the airline since they could not produce birth certificates for the children.
Needless to say, the cricketer was less than impressed and said as much in one long tweet that appeared in two parts. “1/2 Absolutely unprofessional from @emirates. Was on my way 2 SA with my fam & was told that my wife and kids can’t board the flight from Dubai to SA. Was asked to produce birth certificates & other documents for my kids at the airport which we obviously didn’t have at that moment,” the first tweet said.
1/2.Absolutely unprofessional from @emirates. Was on my way 2 SA with my fam & was told tht my wife and kids can’t board the flight from Dubai to SA. Was asked to produce birth certificates & other documents fr my kids at the airport which we obviously didn’t have at that moment.
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) December 29, 2017
“2/2.They are now at Dubai airport waiting for the documents to arrive. Why didn’t @emirates notify about such a situation when we were boarding the plane from Mumbai? One of the Emirates’ employee was being rude for no reason at all,” the cricketer added.
2/2.They are now at Dubai airport waiting for the documents to arrive. Why didn’t @emirates notify about such a situation when we were boarding the plane from Mumbai? One of the emirates’ employee was being rude for no reason at all.
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) December 29, 2017
This is not the first time that a cricketer is troubled by Emirates. Back then, Emirates also got into a situation with former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who also was extremely upset with the way they had handled his travel plans. He too tweeted about the same backing Dhawan.
Now, as the issue went viral like a wildfire, the airlines have come up with an explanation on barring the family. The airlines in its statement wrote, “Since 1 June 2015, according to South African regulations, anyone traveling to the country with a minor under 18 needs to prove parenthood or guardianship – while adults traveling alone with their children need to show that they have the consent of their non-traveling partner.”
“Like all airlines, we must comply with the laws of every country in which we operate and this is a shared responsibility with passengers, who are required to hold valid travel documents for all countries on their itinerary,” the statement further read.
Well, now that the situation is in the air, we expect Emirates Airlines to apologize to Dhawan and move on with the issue.