TAAG – the Angolan airline – said on Thursday several passengers planning to travel to Portugal, Brazil and other destinations were unable to board because they “did not have” a valid return ticket to their country of origin in their system.
According to TAAG, the aforementioned passengers, who intended to travel abroad from the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, in Luanda, only had a “tourist visa” and “without a valid return ticket to their country of residence”.
The company did not authorize the boarding of these passengers because of this non-compliance, reads the information note sent to Lusa by the Angolan state operator today.
TAAG points out that one of the criteria for boarding passengers with a tourist visa “is that they have a one-way ticket and a return ticket to their country of residence.”
The return ticket, the airline notes, is only issued to nationals or residents of the destination country, as well as passengers with a student visa.
“While the passenger can check in online for their outbound flight, there are other checking and evaluation steps at the airport (local and destination),” the note emphasizes.
Several passengers have been stranded at the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport since last Saturday, in this condition, despite having paid for their tickets at the Palmira Viagem Agency, as reported by Novo Jornal.
According to the publication, they will have paid millions of kwanzas for the purchase of tickets to travel to Portugal, Brazil and other countries, admitting to have been “victims of fraud” by the travel agency, due to the obstruction of the immigration authorities.
TAAG also clarifies that the company’s partner travel agents are “instructed on the need for tourist visa passengers to purchase a ticket that includes a full itinerary, i.e. round trip, thus ensuring eligibility for boarding”.
The Angolan airline also ensures that “it has no direct relationship with the Palmira Viagem agency and therefore has no responsibility or degree of influence over its sales policy to the end customer”.
Regarding the passengers’ complaints, a Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) source told Lusa today that the body is aware of the situation and has even had direct intervention as the agency is “negotiating with the targets as they not all have the same situation”.
Lusa tried to contact the Palmira travel agency, but so far without success.
Source: DN
