Man Suffered Stroke, Now Stuck In London Hospital
Lost luggage has become an all-too-common occurence for many
airline travelers... but to our knowledge, this may be the first
report of an airline managing to lose an entire person.
London's Daily Mail reports a woman's elderly father was "lost
in transit" by British Airways last month... the victim of a comedy
of errors that, sadly, turned tragic.
It all began when Zafer Ghadban, 83, arrived at Heathrow the
morning of July 22, for an eight-hour layover. His daughter Mimi
said he had been visiting relatives in Jordan, and airline workers
were under orders to treat the frail man -- who recently had a toe
amputated -- with special care.
Upon noticing what appeared to be blood on the man's bandaged
foot, a BA employee deemed the man unfit to fly, and sent him to
the hospital. As it turns out, the stain was actually red dye, used
by doctors in Jordan.
So far, so good; in fact, one could argue British Airways went
above and beyond in looking out for Ghadban's welfare. However,
things started to turn when Ghadban returned to the airport shortly
before 11:00 pm -- no one, including British Airways workers, has
figured out how he got back there -- and airline employees
discovered he had missed his 7:45 pm connecting flight to
Montreal.
No arrangements had been made for a place for Ghadban to stay
while waiting for the next flight out. He wound up sleeping on a
bench in Terminal Four, according to the website
ThisIsLondon.co.uk.
When Ghadban awoke the next morning, he suffered a stroke and
fell from the bench, breaking his hip. He is now back in the
hospital... where he is expected to stay for several months,
awaiting hip replacement.
Mimi Ghadban described British Airways' treatment of her father
"quite incredible."
"My father speaks very little English and is clearly
vulnerable," she said. "But when he missed his flight nobody
thought to contact his family to tell us what had happened or where
he was. Neither had anyone thought to book him on another flight
home, help him find a hotel or even check that he was okay. He just
got lost in the system."
Adding insult to literal injury, a
spokesman for British Airways claims the airline's "duty of care"
for the elder Ghadban ended when he was declared unfit to fly, and
sent to the hospital.
"British Airways takes the comfort and dignity of all customers
seriously," the spokesperson hastily added. "It is the airline's
policy to offer assistance at the airport to all passengers with
restricted mobility -- We are currently investigating the
complaint."
Ghadban's daughter says the family can't afford to send him back
to Canada. "He didn't buy travel insurance so it looks as though we
will have to pay for him to have an operation here," she said.
So far, Mimi Ghadban says she has yet to receive an apology from
British Airways... or any information on her father's luggage,
which was sent on to Canada without him.