A family from Edinburgh claim they were turned away from a
flightto Edinburgh Airport with their ill son.
Rory and Faryma Foster, alongside their children Logan and Lachlan, were trying to travel from Scotland to Iran, for life-saving surgery for their youngest son, who has a rare medical condition.
They were scheduled to fly to Istanbul from Edinburgh on Tuesday September 25, and claim they phoned Turkish Airlines multiple times in advance to require a smooth journey.
Their ten-month-old son was born with an uncommon genetic condition, meaning a fit to fly NHS certificate is needed.
They obtained this, as well as oxygen throughout the flight for baby Logan while on the plane, reports Edinburgh Live.
But the family think that despite requesting oxygen 48 hours in advance they were told "there wasn't enough oxygen canisters left."
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Rory said: "We were supposed to fly on Monday 25 from Edinburgh to Istanbul. My ten-month-old son has a rare genetic condition and has already had a couple of surgeries and requires another surgery to have a better chance at living.
"NHS guidelines say that for the surgery he should be over three years old but recent research has shown it will be much more effective if he has the surgery before he turns one.
"My wife is Iranian and has family there so they have been able to organise the surgery across there through the Iranian health system.
"At home he requires oxygen overnight, so in order to fly we spoke to his doctors and found out he would need to be on oxygen throughout the flight. We researched which airlines were able to do this and found Turkish Airlines.
"They flew directly from Edinburgh to Istanbul so it was convenient. We phoned them up to explain and they told us to book tickets first then book the oxygen through an online form 48 hours before the flight.
"We sent the fit to fly letter but never got a confirmation. We phoned again and again and were told by staff that it was on their system and we would be able to get his oxygen on the flight.
"On the Saturday morning we phone them again to confirm they again said it was all on the system so it was all go."
He continued: "We got packed up and travelled to Edinburgh Airport, we checked in our bags and got through security and finally waited at the gate. When it was time to board they told us there was not enough oxygen available for my son on the flight so we couldn’t board.
"When we contacted them again they told us the minimum amount of oxygen they could bring on was 2L which is four times the amount that he needs which would be detrimental and cause oxygen poisoning. They tried to give us a refund and wipe their hands with us. Now everything is on hold."
Then the family were left in limbo at the capital airport, intently trying to find a solution so that their son could get the life changing operation necessary.
Rory said: "We went back to the doctors and researched online for another option to solve the problem. We found a machine that would help so we went back to the doctors and sorted the forms. It is approved on flights so we called up to check it was okay.
"We never got a response just passed from one customer service assistant to the other. I would have had to leave at 3pm on Wednesday to go down and pick it up from Stoke but they wouldn’t confirm and it costs £1000 so it was to big of a risk to take in case we go to the flight gate and they didn't let us on."
The entire experience has put the family under an immense amount of pressure, and they are now concerned for their son's health.
The dad explained: "We are at our wits end, there is no number for the Turkish Airline staff at Edinburgh Airport, we got an email today to say we can't take the oxygen we need on a flight after days of conversation saying otherwise.
"To say that you are banging your head of a brick wall is an understatement. It's a ten-month-old baby who has gone through living hell and Turkish Airlines don't care at all.
"It's heartbreaking."
"When we were at the gate and couldn’t let us on the flight they had to take our luggage off the plane and somehow lost our son's car seat. No one was interested in helping and we had no way to get back to Glasgow without it safely.
"Another member of staff from a different airline stepped into help and got us one from lost property so we could at least travel home. It wasn’t ideal but it was better than nothing. Now we have to wait three weeks to get it back.
"My wife is speechless. It's unbelievable and so upsetting, if it was a holiday we could just scrap it but it’s to save our son's life. Now we are still waiting but forms like the fit to fly only last so long and everything needs to be carefully connected to work but now we don't know whats happening."
The family don't know what will happen next, but intend to get a flight as soon as possible to Turkey, so they can go to Iran for life saving surgery - even if they must fly with a different airline.
The family are not sure what will happen next but are now looking to get a flight as soon as possible to Turkey so they can travel to Iran for the life saving surgery. Even if that means flying with another airline.
The Mirror Online has contacted Turkish Airlines for comment.
