I attended a conference in Portugal with some work colleagues. BA operated the return Porto-London leg and Finnair was to fly us home to Helsinki. The flight from Porto was slightly delayed, leaving us just under an hour to reach the gate for our connection at Heathrow. Passengers were still queuing to board when we arrived. My wife and colleagues checked in without difficulty, but, although we had all arrived together, I was told that BA had changed my ticket for a flight later in the day, as I was late. Finnair was unable to reinstate my original ticket, so the plane departed without me.
I filed a complaint with BA and asked if there was a racial element to the decision to remove me from the flight, as I was the only person of colour in my group and the only passenger denied boarding. I have subsequently asked the same question six times and have only received generic apologies. My question about race has been totally ignored, which I find more disturbing than the airport experience.
PL, Helsinki, Finland
