Four days ago, on May 8th at 02:00, while attempting to board Turkish Airlines flight TK183 to Havana, Cuba at Istanbul Airport gate D7, a security officer from Gozen Security stopped me during ticket control. Despite having passed all checks, having my luggage taken, and clearing passport control without issues, the officer claimed that Cuba does not accept first-time travelers with empty passports. He used this as a reason to treat me disrespectfully and stamped my passport as canceled. The security personnel mocked me among themselves about the authenticity of my passport. Despite showing all necessary documents for Cuba, including my round-trip tickets, a one-week accommodation, health insurance, Cuban visa, five-star hotel reservation, and $800 cash along with sufficient funds on my card, they prevented me from boarding the plane.
I am aware that Cuba has no such requirement and that this was an obstruction solely imposed by Turkish Airlines. A friend living in Cuba contacted the Cuban consulate, which confirmed that neither first-time travel nor an empty passport is an issue for entry into the country, and they found this claim absurd.
If Turkish Airlines has such a restriction, I wonder why this was not mentioned during my prior conversation with their customer service representative. I believe Turkish Airlines is at fault in this situation. I waited for hours to retrieve my luggage and was in tears during this time.
I plan to visit the Cuban consulate in Ankara this week to confirm whether first-time travelers are accepted. If the consulate in Ankara also states that this is not an issue, I intend to file a lawsuit against Turkish Airlines for unjustly restricting my freedom to travel and causing delays in my business meetings, seeking both material and moral compensation.
I am discussing this matter with my lawyers. Additionally, this situation has caused great emotional distress to me and my family. Although the cost of my flight ticket has been refunded, the cancellation of this trip, which was planned according to my vacation and business meetings in Cuba, has disrupted million-dollar business deals. How will this loss be compensated? To address my significant grievance, I demand immediate access to a direct flight to Cuba, priority boarding rights, and coverage for my rescheduled hotel reservations. If these demands are not met, I will pursue both material and moral compensation claims against Turkish Airlines.
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