The Independent 10 August 2020 - by Simon Calder
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Wizz Air has warned passengers that if they fail to add a middle initial on the “passenger locator form” (PLF) for Greece, they will be denied boarding.
Since Greece opened its frontiers to tourists in July, prospective visitors must complete the form ahead of travel. They are then sent a confirmation email at midnight on the day of departure which they must show at the airport and on arrival.
But many passengers checking in for flights have been turned away because of flaws in their applications.
On Thursday 8 July, Wizz Air offloaded 28 passengers – about one in six – from a Luton-Athens flight because of what the airline says was failure to comply.
Harry Young and his partner were among them – and ended up spending over £600 to reach their friends in Greece. He told The Independent: “We had filled out our Greek PLF forms correctly and for the correct date a few days before.
“The middle name was optional on this form when entering details. I didn’t enter mine and nor did my partner.
“We were stopped due to not having a middle name on our PLF forms. We were sent to a supervisor and manager who were not helpful at all.
“They were insistent we were in the wrong and would not listen to any passenger – even after showing them on my phone, a new form where it clearly said the middle name was optional.”
Mr Young and his partner spent £100 on a taxi to Heathrow and over £500 on one-way flights on British Airways to Athens.
The airline insists the couple are in the wrong.
A spokesperson said: “Wizz Air confirms that 28 passengers who were due to fly from London Luton to Athens were offloaded from the W9 4467 flight as a result of having no Passenger Locator Form (PLF), mistakes on their form, or insufficient detail on their form, such as missing middle names.
“Wizz Air reminds passengers that it is their responsibility to complete a PLF with all the necessary information to be allowed to fly to Greece.
“Passengers who do not complete the form or do so incorrectly will be refused carriage, and are not entitled to compensation.”
The additional costs for the rejected passengers run into thousands of pounds.
Under European air passengers’ rights rules, travellers who are correctly documented but are denied boarding are entitled to €400 in cash compensation, in addition to recompense of related costs.
Greece has proved very popular among British holidaymakers in August because of low levels of coronavirus and exemption from the need to quarantine on return to the UK.