Reimbursement Request For Not Having Help To Get To My Flight On Time
On 14 October 2026, I travelled with Turkish Airlines from Venice Marco Polo Airport on a journey that was supposed to go Venice–Istanbul–Miami. I am wheelchair bound due to having no right knee, so wheelchair assistance had been ordered in advance. However, when I arrived at Venice Marco Polo Airport there was no wheelchair available and no assistance offered to me at all. Because of this lack of assistance, I was expected to walk around 15 minutes through the airport to reach the gate. This was impossible for me due to my disability. As a result, I could not reach the aircraft in time, and the flight departed without me even though we had arrived at the airport two hours before departure. Due to the missed flight, it took me 36½ hours to get home. We were forced to buy two new tickets in order to continue our journey. In addition, because of my medical condition, we had to find a place where I could lie down to rest, which led us to pay 100 USD for access to an airport lounge. During this whole process, my companion spoke with several Turkish Airlines and airport staff. Unfortunately, the staff at the counters were consistently rude and unhelpful. Every person we spoke to told us that we had to buy new tickets and that, for everything else that happened, we would need to contact a helpline and obtain some kind of form by email to describe the incident. I am requesting a full refund of the cost of the two replacement tickets that we were forced to purchase because the plane left without us despite our being at the airport two hours early and having pre‑ordered wheelchair assistance. I am also asking for reimbursement of the 100 USD we had to pay for lounge access so that I could lie down and rest due to my disability. I expect Turkish Airlines and the responsible parties at Venice Marco Polo Airport to review how this situation was handled and to provide an appropriate resolution and compensation for the significant distress, extra costs, and delay I experienced.