Complaint

I am extremely disappointed and upset with FlySafair after what happened with my trip to Zanzibar.

I had purchased my tickets well in advance and was genuinely looking forward to this trip. However, when it came time to fly, I was refused boarding because my passport expires in December and I was told that I needed at least six months’ validity on my passport.

What makes this situation even more frustrating is that I was never made aware of this requirement when booking my ticket. I was required to enter my passport details, including the passport expiry date, during the booking process and again when checking in. If the airline had this information, why was I not warned at any stage that my passport would not meet the entry requirements for Zanzibar?

Instead, I arrived expecting to travel, only to be told that I could not fly. I was then told that my only option was to purchase a ticket with Air Tanzania.

This was incredibly heartbreaking and stressful. I had planned and paid for this trip well in advance, and the fact that I was allowed to proceed through the booking and check-in process without any clear warning about such an important requirement is extremely disappointing.

I completely understand that airlines have to comply with immigration and entry requirements. What I do not understand is why FlySafair did not clearly flag this issue when I provided my passport information. A simple warning during booking or check-in could have given me the opportunity to renew my passport before travelling and avoid this entire situation.

Customers should not have to find out about a critical travel requirement only when they are standing at the airport, after already paying for their flights and making travel plans.

FlySafair needs to seriously review how passport and visa requirements are communicated to passengers. This experience has left me extremely disappointed, and what was supposed to be an exciting trip became a heartbreaking and stressful experience instead.

To make matters even worse, when I asked for a refund, I was told that they could not refund me because it was too close to the scheduled flying time. Instead, I was offered a voucher. After the way this situation was handled, I honestly do not feel comfortable or safe flying with FlySafair anymore, so being offered a voucher for a future flight does not feel like a satisfactory resolution to me.

I paid for a flight that I was not allowed to take because of a requirement that I was never properly alerted to, despite providing my passport details and expiry date during the booking and check-in process. I do not believe that simply offering me a voucher addresses the distress, disappointment, and financial loss this situation has caused.