British Airways says sorry for refusing to let Ukrainian family board flight

theguardian.com:

British Airways has apologised after it refused to allow a Ukrainian family, including an eight-year-old girl, to board a flight to the UK despite them having all the correct travel documents.

The family-of-three had fled their home in Kharkiv, which has suffered some of the most intense Russian bombing, after waiting more than two weeks to be granted UK visas.

They travelled 800 miles to Warsaw airport in Poland, where they were due to fly to London under the UK government’s homes for Ukraine scheme.

Vira Rybalchenko, 68, lost her passport in the evacuation but was assured by the British embassy that she would be allowed to travel because she had a paper copy of the document as well as a newly issued UK visa and a Ukrainian identity card.

The family passed through airport security without issue but minutes before they were due to board the flight Rybalchenko was wrongly told by British Airways staff that she could not board without her original passport.

The British flag carrier admitted that this was a mistake and issued an apology to the family after being contacted by the Guardian. It said: “We’re very sorry for the genuine error made by our team when trying to follow Home Office guidance and we’ve put measures in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We’re making contact with the family to apologise and will be providing a full refund of their tickets.”

Rybalchenko’s daughter, Hanna Zakhovaieva, said: “This was a horrible experience and my mum was absolutely shocked. I couldn’t leave my mum in Poland because she doesn’t understand the language and doesn’t know anyone or have anywhere to stay.”

Zakhovaieva, 37, said her eight-year-old daughter, Sofiia, was “very traumatised” by the war and speaks to her father,