Gotogate Refused My Refund After War Prevented My Etihad Flight

I purchased round-trip flight tickets for two people from Istanbul to Phuket through Gotogate, with departure on Friday, February 20th, 2026, and return on Monday, March 9th, 2026, for a total of approximately $2,050. The flights were operated by Etihad. Due to the war situation, the trip could not go ahead as planned. On the day of the outbound flight, one of us was unable to board, and because I missed the outbound flight, I was also barred from taking the return flight.

When I contacted Etihad directly, I was told that if I had purchased the ticket through Etihad's own website, I would have been able to use the return flight by paying an additional $82. However, they made it clear that this option was not available to me because my ticket had been booked through Gotogate — meaning I was penalized simply for using a third-party booking platform.

I requested a full refund from Gotogate. In their response regarding ticket number 6072950401812, they stated that the outbound flight was marked as "no show" on February 20th, that no exceptional circumstance such as war or civil unrest applied under their fare rules, and that the ticket was non-refundable — so they closed the case without issuing any refund.

I find it completely unacceptable that Etihad was willing to offer a solution for customers who booked directly, yet no flexibility or support was extended to me simply because I booked through Gotogate. Being blocked from using my return flight and receiving zero refund despite these extraordinary circumstances is not something I'm willing to accept without pushing back. I'm requesting that the full ticket amount I paid for this Istanbul–Phuket trip for two people — or at minimum any refundable portion such as taxes — be urgently returned to me, and that this case be reconsidered in good faith, taking into account both the exceptional circumstances and the information I received directly from Etihad.