A traumatizing experience at OR Tambo

On Sunday 20th of February my mom and nephew were supposed to board at 4:35 with Kulula airlines.

We were at the airport at 4:07 (wished we took a photo of our parking ticket) and they ran to the checkin only for that machine to not work on my mom's phone. The lady helped the guy before my mom, but didn't help her and just sent her back to the Kulula counters.

My almost 60 year old mom had to run back to the counters. The male that attended to her spent almost 5 minutes on the phone before he could hand her the ticket. He told her, you're late make sure you skip the queue.

My mom did exactly that and proceeded to run with my 10 year old nephew to the gates....only to arrive there and be told that she missed her flight.

The plane had not left...there was no final call for them....it was 2 passengers that were still in the airport. Surely there was communication between all the people my mom had to go through.

Why was the guy on the phone for so long....who was he speaking to?

The experience was so traumatic for my mom and nephew (it was his 2nd time flying, his first was when he was 3 yrs old).

The land hostesses were so unhelpful and arrogant.

The airport is a huge and overwhelming place...not only do you have to deal with emotions of leaving loved ones, but you're afraid of getting lost and missing your flight. Surely the hostesses should be kind and helpful...but that afternoon, there was none of that experienced...and we needed it the most.

I had to come back to the airport to a frantically crying mom. My heart broke when I saw her running with my nephew and bags behind her.

She had to purchase another ticket with money none of us had.

This was so unfair....my nephew kept on saying we were on time there, why didn't they allow us in? What did we do wrong? He was crying, my mom was crying ...it was so painful seeing them like that and still no compassion from any ground staff.

After phoning around and trying to get the money together, my mom managed to get a flight with British Airways for 8:30 pm.

This time she was taking no chances and decided to go through checkin at 7:30, to avoid any mishaps on the way....only to be told that the flight would be delayed a further 2hrs.

No explainiation, nothing. But they get to the boarding gate late and she gets told you can't board you're late.

My frustration is that my mom and nephew was in the airport on time and was not helped by ground staff. Couldn't the ones dealing with her have informed the ones at the gate that the passengers are here and on their way.

Why did the guy take so long on the phone and then printed my mom's ticket, delaying her even more.

Why did the lady help the guy before with his phone and dint help my mum, who was after him.

Why did the ladies at the gate speak in Zulu and laugh at my mom when they saw her running towards them. Why didn't they radio the pilot of the airhostesses letting them know that the last passengers were here.

I have never heard of a plane leaving at the very second they were told to. They usually wait a bit if someone's late....and this time it was 2 passengers.

My mom and nephew only arrived in Durban at 12:30 Monday morning. The child had an exam to do that day and that was our urgency in getting him to Durban early and safely.

The trauma and inconvenience caused a lot of emotional stress for both my mom and nephew. Nobody has money lying around on the 20th of the month and this was challenging phoning around asking for money while the ground hostess puts pressure on you to give an answer now to process a ticket.

I have never experienced unfeeling and unprofessional staff like this before. The way they handled this whole thing is beyond me.

I am super disappointed and livid to say the least.

I will be taking this matter further. My mom is at home not feeling well, because at almost 60, she had to run to and fro in the airport, treated like she's stupid...forgot the financial inconvenience.