Turkish Airlines Departed 30 Minutes Early and This Caused Disposing of Our Possessions
On our Basel (Mulhouse) - Istanbul flight with Turkish Airlines (Anadolu Jet) TK853 scheduled to depart at 14:15 on March 18, 2024, the boarding gate was supposed to be declared at 13:35, with departure planned for 14:15. However, at 13:30, Turkish Airlines announced our names at Mulhouse Europort airport, indicating that the gate was about to close. At that moment, we were discussing with authorities how to stow our baby food, cheese, and Nutella box (valued at approximately 100 euros), which were deemed unacceptable for cabin baggage despite not being liquids, by redistributing weight during security checks. As our names were called, we were hastily ushered onto the plane, and our belongings, prohibited from passing security, were discarded by the staff. Before the scheduled boarding time of 13:30, all passengers were rushed onto the plane, causing a delay of about 30 minutes from the original departure time of 14:15. The flight eventually took off at 13:55. When we questioned a Turkish Airlines official during boarding about the rushed process and the disposal of our belongings, we were informed that it was to notify passengers early and ensure an early departure. Had the plane departed on time, no inconvenience would have occurred. With just 10 minutes at the small airport, we could have stowed our belongings in the luggage hold. We explained the situation to the cabin chief, who acknowledged our account, requested a written explanation, and assured us of filing a report. We demand compensation for the expenses incurred due to the disposal of our belongings, which we were unable to place in checked baggage and were discarded as we rushed to catch the flight, which departed half an hour earlier than scheduled.
