Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Fresh claims of mistreatment on Canary Islands connections
A fresh episode of alleged arbitrariness and mistreatment of passengers has once again put Iberia’s management of connections between the Canary Islands, Madrid and the United States in the spotlight. The well-known journalist Javier Brandoli has publicly denounced the serious incident he and his companion suffered at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport as they were preparing to board flight IB0325 to New York, following a stopover from Tenerife North airport.
Boarding passes in hand, then a false missed-flight email
Despite having checked in and printed their boarding passes at the Tenerife airport — having paid months in advance for seats with extra space at the emergency exit — both passengers received an automated email from the airline just as they were queuing to board. The notification falsely informed them that they had missed the flight for failing to present themselves on time, and arbitrarily rebooked them onto a connection for the following day.
After refusing to leave the boarding area and demonstrating that their paper tickets allowed them through the scanners, the airline’s ground staff offered them an alternative under duress: board the plane but forfeit their reserved seats, assigning them two separate, standard seats.
Cabin crew found sitting in the paid seats
Thanks to the intervention of the cabin supervisor on board, who ordered the original emergency-exit seats (38J and 38K) to be freed up, the couple discovered the real reason behind the administrative obstacles. When they reached the seats they had paid for, they found that two stewardesses from the airline itself, dressed in corporate uniform, were occupying them. Despite the initial resistance of the employees and of a male flight attendant who pressed for them not to be moved, the crew had to order the seats to be vacated after the insistence of the affected passengers and the outrage of the rest of the travellers.
Claims of a systematic disregard for contracts
Brandoli has described the airline’s conduct as a “systematic way of acting that completely disregards contracts with its customers” — not only for stripping users of services they had previously paid for in favour of the company’s own staff, but also for the barriers the airline imposes when it comes to processing refunds or complaints.
As the journalist himself denounced, the airline’s customer support computer systems generate induced errors in the online refund forms in order to wear users down, forcing them to make three times as many attempts before they can submit a formal complaint.
Calls for consumer organisations to step in
Faced with this situation of defencelessness, those affected have called for consumer organisations to intervene to stop this kind of abusive practice at airports.
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