KLM shocking service - Avoid them at all costs

Below is the nightmare experience we had with KLM. Despite numerous attempts to get a response from both KLM Europe as well as their South African offices we have had zero response. I have had read receipts for my emails so I know they were received.

1. We were booked on Flight KL922 to Amsterdam at 06h00 on the 10-07-2025 for our return to Johannesburg via Amsterdam and Paris, a party of 4. 2. We arrived at Edinburg Airport at approx 02h45 on the 10-07-2025 and were 3rd in the baggage Check-in counter when it opened at approx 03h40. 3. We approached the Check-in and were served by a lady Check-in clerk who took passports and tickets and proceeded to attempt to Check us in. She encountered some difficulty and called her supervisor a young gentleman who then took over. He also experienced challenges. Apparently there is some obscure EU law that blocks two transit destinations in the EU. However he said that this was not normally an issue as our transit in Paris was only 1 hour and that KLM could overwrite the block and get an exemption from what we were experiencing on the KLM Check-in portal as out transit in Paris was only 1 hour. He tried numerous times to contact KLM to have this matter resolved. He could not contact KLM so he tried to rebook our flights via other destinations and was also unsuccessful. He explained that Swissport were simply agents for KLM and consequently he had no access rights to the KLM booking system. He eventually asked us to go to the Swissport counter and/or use a coffee shop and the internet to contact KLM to get the issue resolved as there was a queue of passengers waiting to board. (He gave us an email and contact No for KLM). We went to the Swissport counter and nearby coffee shop as asked. 4. The staff at Flight Centre who had booked the flights had also reiterated that we would not require a Shengen visa to transit Europe as we were not going through immigration at any of the transit airports and were told that KLM would take care of any transit requirements, this was confirmed by the Check-in Supervisor who assisted us at Edinburg Airport. 5. The Clerk at the Swissport counter was surly and totally unhelpful saying that they could only help Qatar Air passengers and explained that there was no KLM help desk in Edinburg Airport and suggested that the only help I could get would be from the Check-in staff. I returned to the Check-in counter and was told once again that the the Swissport counter was the only place I could get help. I returned to the Swissport counter and once again approached the unhelpful clerk who became rude and aggressive insisting that he could only help Qatar Air passengers. I sat down and started drafting emails and WhatsApp since the contact number I was given for KLM was never answered. I got Zero response from either KLM channel despite expressing the sense of urgency and explaining why. I received a read receipt for the email I sent so clearly it was received and read but still no response. 6. I then went back to the KLM Check-in counter but it had closed and there was no one there. I went back to the Swissport counter and once again was confronted with the unhelpful clerk, who eventually told me to go to Aer Lingus Check-in as they apparently ran the airport and could get a supervisor to assist. 7. I went to Aer Lingus and one of the Check-in clerks obligingly called her supervisor who listened to the problem and agreed to assist. I asked for him to give me aletter or email stating thet we had presented ourselves in time at the check-in. He stated that this was not company policy but that he would email KLM and set the record straight. He asked for my passports so asked him to wait whilst I returned to the coffee shop to get them ****erally 3 minutes) on my return the supervisor had disappeared and told that Check-in lady to tell me that he could not assist. 8. None of the staff wore identification or were prepared to provide names or contact details so I could reference them later. 9. I returned to the Coffee Shop and spent the rest of the day until approx 17h00 trying to contact KLM and Flight Centre to get the issue resolved. 10. KLM offered no communication to assist and after spending the day trying to find a contact number or functioning email at KLM I still had no success 11. We now had no flight and no place where we could get flights rebooked as KLM have no help desk in Edinburg Airport. I tried to purchase new tickets but because my mobile phone had no international roaming I could not authorise payments 12. I then contacted Flight Centre in South Africa to get them to re-book the flights. They were happy to assist however they came back to me stating that KLM had locked our profile as "No-Show" clients and consequently forfeited the tickets. Complete obstruction by KLM. This despite the fact the we were 3rd in the queue at the Baggage Check in counter well before and cut off time. I explained this to Flight Centre who passed it on to KLM, who then responded that they needed a letter of proof that we were indeed at the Check-in well prior to cut off, something that they clearly knew would be impossible because of both KLM and Swissport company policy.....yet further evidence of KLM's deliberate pattern of obstruction. 13. I provided copies of my email correspondence with KLM with time stamps indicating that this whole debacle occurred well before cut off time for the Flight KL922 to Amsterdam at 06h00. To further strengthen the sense of urgency I also provided my wife's doctors letter showing the booking for emergency surgery to remove a tumour in her eye. Failure to keep the appointment would result in forfeiture of approx US$ 30 000 and would result in us having to reschedule the surgery with the additional risk that she could then possibly loose her eyesight in that eye as a result of the delay. These factors made absolutely no difference KLM(who were copied in on this be email) who clearly could not have cared less. 14. At about 16h00 I by pure chance ran into the Swissport Supervisor who tried to Check us in at 03h30 who remembered the incident and I explained that I desperately needed help to provide proof that we were at the Check-in prior to the flight and that we were declined boarding because of some obscure visa requirement that could be overruled by KLM and that the "No Show" on the system was incorrect. He promised to send an email explaining this to his KLM point of contact. 15. Shortly after this fortuitous meeting Flight Centre indicated that our profile had been unlocked but that we would have to pay a substantial amount to rebook the flight. In light of the emergency we were facing we agreed to pay this fee and claim it back later. We were now at least booked on a flight all be it a delay of 48 hours, making it a real possibility that my wife could miss the scheduled surgery. At no stage did we receive any communication from KLM other than a couple of ridiculous WhatsApp communications from the KLM bot that were absolutely useless a couple of days later. 16. As a result of this we incurred considerable expenses in |Airport transfer costs and the cost of two additional nights accommodation in Edinburg whilst waiting for the flight. We also had to pay considerable costs for re-booking flights. 17. When we arrived at Edinburg airport at 03h00 on Saturday 12 June for our 06h00 flight to Amsterdam the Check in went smoothly. We waited for boarding and were called to the gate on time and we were loaded onto buses. The buses departed the terminal for the waiting plane. We were no allowed to exit the bus for about 15 minutes and eventually the pilot captain came down from the ****pit to address us to explain that when the plane was parked the evening before the prescribed security screening for the aircraft had not been performed(a clear failure by KLM staff to supervise this process) and as a consequence we would have to go back to the terminal buildings and await a new boarding time until the security screening on the aircraft had been completed. This resulted in a 1hr30 min delay. We had a 2hr connecting flight transit time at Schiphol. This meant that we would only have 30 minutes to debus and move from arrivals to the connecting flight on the other side of the airport before the the boarding gate closed almost impossible. 18. We literally had to sprint from one side of the airport to the other and just made the boarding on our connecting flight. My wife and I are both well over 60 years old. 19. During the flight to Johannesburg I communicated to the Bursar on the flight explaining what we had been exposed to and he also agreed that the refusal to allow boarding was completely unnecessary in the first place and that he would write a report(which he showed me and I approved) which would be sent to KLM and that someone would contact me on Monday 14 July to deal with this whole debacle. I am still waiting on this call. 20. The flight to Johannesburg was uneventful and we arrived on time and cleared immigration and went to collect baggage. We then discovered that one of our suitcases had been lost in transit. On enquiry they said that they found the suitcase in Schiphol and would forward it the following day 24 hrs later. We received the suitcase on Monday 14-07-2025. 21. My daughter and her Fiance we also booked on the same flight as us on Thursday 10-07-2025 and were notified that their flight had been cancelled whilst standing in the queue at Edinburgh with us waiting to Check-in. Clearly this flight had been significantly over booked by KLM and they were looking for people to bump off the flight. If this was not the case, then when we were removed from the flight two seats became available and my daughter and her fiance could have been placed in these seats. This was not the case, a clear indication of the fact that the flight had been significantly over booked. My Daughter and her Fiance were then re-booked on the same flight as my wife and I on Saturday 12-07-2025 at 06h00 and also had to cover the cost of additional Airport Taxi's and 2 additional nights accommodation in Edinburg. I had to pay significant re-booking costs to make these new bookings.