Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines Denied Boarding to My Cat Due to Certificate Error

Sel · 2025-03-06T01:06:31+03:00

On March 4, 2025, I had a 04:45 Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Nakhchivan. I had reserved space for my cat online and had previously obtained a veterinary certificate with a microchip from Ataşehir Municipality back in June 2024. Despite clearly stating that my documents were Azerbaijani and that we were traveling to Azerbaijan, the municipality carelessly wrote “destination: Pakistan” on the certificate—something I didn’t notice at the time. Turkish Airlines had no issues with this error when we flew from Sabiha Airport to Baku two months earlier. However, this time at the airport, Turkish Airlines staff suddenly refused boarding because of the erroneous "Pakistan" reference. I explained repeatedly that it was clearly a mistake, the cat’s vaccinations were complete, and that we'd already traveled this way previously without issue—but they refused boarding, forcing my father to return home with the cat. They even refused to refund the $75 pet reservation fee, claiming it as an "extra service." Now my cat is traumatized, refusing to eat or use its litter box. Turkish Airlines, immediately refund my $75 and resolve this ridiculous and cruel situation!

Sel

We had a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Nakhchivan on March 4, 2025, at 04:45. I had made a reservation for my cat online. In June 2024, when I was going to Baku, I got a veterinary certificate from Ataşehir Municipality, a document stating that my cat has a chip. Despite the fact that my blind person ID and passport clearly show that I belong to Azerbaijan, and I said I was getting a document to go to Azerbaijan, they wrote 'the country the cat is being sent to is Pakistan' on it. I didn't notice this there. We went to Sabiha Airport to go to Baku, and they didn't say anything there either, the flight went smoothly. We returned two months later. On our flight on March 4, the man said it says Pakistan here, I can't let you go like this. I said the cat is my cat, we traveled like this. Once the vaccinations are complete, what difference does it make to you? They didn't let us go, and we lost 75 dollars, my father had to go back and get the cat. I asked why aren't you refunding the 75 dollars? Did you reserve a seat for the cat or something? They said an additional service entry was made. The cat was cold and sweating there, its paw was damp and cold. I had stopped feeding it a few hours before because we were going to board the plane. Then my father took it away. Now the cat neither eats nor goes to the toilet. Every time I think about it, I cry because the cat thinks I abandoned it there, it neither eats nor drinks water, where is your compassion, this is a stray cat, not a purebred or anything, I can't be without it. It used to always stay by my side at home. Contact us and refund our wasted money.

Sel

They still didn't help, they didn't allow me to take my cat, and we lost 75 dollars.