Air Premia responded to a recent incident involving a Korean mother and daughter, surnamed Oh, who had to pay a substantial fee to change their flight. This occurred because the airline did not check the visa in their passports and refused to let them board, as they did not have an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
On December 27, Air Premia told the Korea Daily, “Our check-in system automatically checks for ESTA, but visa holders must show their physical visa to register,” explaining, “The customer did not give a clear answer about her visa possession at the counter, so we recommended she register for an ESTA, and it seems that she proceeded to change her itinerary.”
“Instead of leaving it at a question-and-answer session, we should have approached the customer more closely at the counter, such as checking the customer’s passport for previous departure records or checking whether the customer had a visa in their passport.” “We fully understand the customer’s inconvenience and will further look into what compensation is available at the head office,” they added.
In response, Oh said, “I’m relieved they acknowledged their error,” and added, “The misinformation from Air Premia spoiled what was meant to be an enjoyable family vacation. I hope they will improve their customer service so that this never happens again.”
Previously, Oh, a 48-year-old U.S. citizen, and her 74-year-old mother, Lim, had planned a holiday visit to Oh’s sister in New Jersey on Air Premia flight YP131, departing from South Korea at 9:50 p.m. on December 11.
However, during check-in at the airport, Air Premia’s staff denied them check-in, erroneously claiming that Lim lacked an ESTA, without verifying her passport or departure records. However, Lim had a 10-year tourist visa and had been traveling freely to and from the U.S. without ESTA before the pandemic.
Upon presenting her mother’s visa, Oh was informed by the agent that “the rules have changed,” and had to reschedule her flight. The mother and daughter were unable to leave the country the same day and had to pay a fee of about 1 million won (roughly $772) to reschedule their flight. Their trip was delayed by four days to register for ESTA, which disrupted their planned family trip.
Federal regulations stipulate that while citizens of Visa Waiver Agreement countries must obtain ESTA for visa-free travel to the U.S., this does not apply to holders of valid visas.
Initially, when Oh lodged a complaint on the airline’s website, Air Premia dismissed it, claiming “the employee says it never happened,” and shifted the blame to Oh and her mother.
BY NICOLE CHANG, HOONSIK WOO [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
