This is the mail i wrote to them.
I, Senthil Kumar Masila, travelled on 10th of April from Cincinnati via Paris to Bangalore. The flight DL44 in which I was travelling was delayed and I happened to miss the connecting flight DL
8461 by half hour i.e., DL44 arrived at Charles De Gaulle International Airport (CDG) Paris at 12:00 PM local time on the 11th of April and
DL8461 had left at 11:30 AM local time. Air France authorities first booked my flight for the next day and asked me to apply for VISA for Paris and asked me to pay 60 Euros which I refused to do, after some internal discussion with their supervisor I was told that they would be applying for my visa free of cost and I was asked to wait. At around 1:00 PM I was informed that my visa had been rejected because I was holding an Indian passport, so I was refused accommodation. When I asked them how I was to spend the night I was told that since I was holding a delta ticket and not Air France ticket I cannot go any where else but I was to stay at the 2E terminal and spend the night there. In that place there was no access to any basic needs like food, water and phone. On requesting and pleading with them to get me some food since I was starving, at around 3:00 PM they got me some carrot (which was spoiled) and a coke. I was asking them to put me in some waiting area where it would be warm for the night and what I was to do at night for my dinner and for water, I was told by the supervisor that since I had a delta ticket they would not be helping me and delta has to take care and they were in no way responsible for me. When I requested them that I wanted to speak to some Delta representative I never got any response from them. After much begging/pleading which continued till 8:00 PM, by this time I was already hungry and had been asking them if I would be getting any help from them or not at least on humanitarian grounds, all the while standing in one of their empty counters, one of the Air France representative pitied me and finally agreed to take me to 2B terminal where I was told that I would be able to get some food at least but no accommodation would be provided and I was to spend the night in the cold there. I had to buy my own food and drinks there. After all these incidents I was really shocked since Air France and Delta are partners and yet they claim that Air France was not responsible for me. To add to my frustration I found that there was not a single chair in the airport and nor any place to sit so the whole night I had to sit on a weighing machine and was left to fight the cold and suffer. I was not able to sleep even for a while there and the whole night I was awake. In the early hours 6:00 AM 12th of April I went to the terminal 2C from where I had to board my flight. Since I had not refreshed I was stinking and some how I managed to get into the flight and reach Bangalore via Mumbai at around 5:20 AM in the morning just to find that my baggage’s were missing and they hadn’t reached Bangalore even though I had told Air France twice and given all the details of my luggage.
All this while my parents were shocked, worried and were in a bad state since they did not have any clue of what had happened to me.
I want you to take appropriate action and provide me compensation for each of the below mentioned reasons/ situations and the trauma that I had underwent all the while:
1. I believe that the reason I was given that I was an Indian so I was denied the visa without any other thing told is a case of racial discrimination towards all the Indians. On requesting them whether I could request the police the Air France representatives rudely told me that if I wanted to end up in jail then I could go and request the inspector for the visa. They never gave any proof that they did go and ask/apply for the visa?
2. Why was I denied my basic necessities like food, water, accommodation and telephone to convey to someone in my family that I was stuck up in the airport? In what way does Delta claim that they are partners with Air France when the latter leaves the person travelling in delta in such a cruel state of difficulties? (No food, water, communication mechanism and accommodation) As a partner isn’t Air France responsible for providing the same to me?
3. I was left to suffer at 2B terminal in the cold and no place to sit and had to buy my own food and drinks.
4. What delta is going to do so that these situations are not faced by others?
5. What is going to be done for my missing/ delayed luggage?
6. What delta is going to do for the sky miles that I have lost because of my transfer from Delta flight to Air India flight? I still don’t have anything to wear and I am in the same clothes in which I travelled.
7. Compensation for all the mental strain and stress caused by the Air France representatives. Till now I am feeling the pinch and how lowly it is making me feel. I am not able to concentrate on anything and nor am I able to sleep till now.
This journey was a real nightmare and the worst day in my life.
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