Traveling from BRU-AUH-DEL-KTM with only hand luggage: denied boarding in BRU due to lack of Indian Transit Visa

Question

On 11-9-23 in Brussels, Belgium (BRU), Etihad denied our boarding for flight EY58 to Abu Dhabi, UAE (AUH) (with only hand luggage), which connected to EY218 to Delhi, India (DEL) T3. From T3, we would proceed with AI213 to Kathmandu, Nepal (KTM). The ground personnel of Etihad in Brussels said, "You need an Indian transit visa for Delhi. You will also lose all your returning flights. You'll need to buy new tickets." Consequently, we left Brussels 5 hours later with two Emirates tickets that avoided India, costing €1640. Upon inquiring with Etihad over the phone, they stated, "Since you contacted us in a timely manner, you can retain all your return flights."

When we flew back from KTM-DEL-AUH-BRU three weeks later, this time with an Indian transit visa, we stayed in the T3 transit lounge. There was no passport or visa check, making the visa seem unnecessary. The Indian visa offices in both Kathmandu and Brussels confirmed to me via email that "if you only have hand luggage, you do not need a transit visa for Delhi." However, Etihad insisted, "You do need it. We are correct. Furthermore, your AI213 should have been printed on the same ticket, which is another reason for denying your boarding."

Etihad in UAE confirmed that they deny boarding to numerous passengers daily due to this reason. However, they do not inform about these visa restrictions in ticket purchase emails, boarding pass emails, on their website, etc. They stated, "We don't provide this information. Passengers must look up the relevant IATA rules themselves." It seems to us that Etihad is applying IATA rules meant for travelers with checked-in luggage even to those carrying only hand luggage.

For context, I traveled the Europe-Delhi-Kathmandu route twice in 2022, and over the past 30 years, I've taken this route more than 80 times without ever being denied boarding.

Questions

1. Is this correct?
2. Is this reasonable?
3. Where can one find the visa rule that Etihad adheres to?

Answer 1

The connecting AI flight was not booked with the EY flight

Then you are unfortunately out of luck here. Self-connection is a complicated issue and even IATA doesn't cover it particularly well.

Etihad sold you a flight from BRU to DEL, so they are required to check your entry credentials for India. They have every right to deny you boarding if you don't have these.

Now the fact that you had a same-day ticket from DEL to KTM without the need to leave the transit area happen to exempt you from a transit Visa requirement. However, that's a complicated set of rules depending on your passport, luggage needs, layover time, airport and terminal layout, arrival procedures, etc. which makes it difficult for the airline to fully verify.

Hence it's entirely in their discretion to let you board or not in this case. They do not HAVE to let you board but they can CHOOSE to, if they feel you can indeed make visa free transfer. You are not entitled to it.

Is this correct?

Yes. EY was not required to let you board. They could have chosen to, but they didn't.

Is this reasonable?

That's a complicated question. Self connection rules are extremely tricky and not well documented. Some airlines try to accommodate this to some extent, others just refuse it outright. It's reasonable from the airline's perspective: they have little incentive to protect a connection that they didn't get paid for and if they make a mistake (which is easy to make), they can get fined, sometimes heavily so. Why take the risk ?

To EY's credit, they did preserve your return flights, which technically they didn't have to do.

Where can one find the visa rule that Etihad adheres to?

The visa rules here are straights forward. You bought an EY ticket from BRU to DEL and you need proper documentation for that ticket (which you didn't have). Period.

Anything beyond that is not a "rule". The requirement can potentially be waived by the airline due to your self-connection, but it's in no way guaranteed and you can't rely on this unless you have written confirmation from the airline, that they will indeed allow it.

Lesson Learned Self connection without proper credentials for the connecting country is very risky, even if it's technically allowed.

Answer 2

The Etihad website links to the IATA Travel Center website for visa requirements. This website uses the Timatic database for requirements, which is the same database that the airline staff themselves will use when determining if you need a visa or not.

You have not stated your nationality, but entering details for an Australian citizen, travelling from Belgium to Nepal with a stopover in India gives the following requirements for India :

Visa required.

TWOV (Transit Without Visa): Passengers transiting through Bangalore (BLR), Chennai (MAA), Delhi (DEL), Kolkata (CCU) or Mumbai (BOM) with a confirmed onward ticket for a flight to a third country within 24 hours. The connecting flight must be booked on the same ticket and the luggage must be checked to the final destination. They must stay in the international transit area of the airport and have documents required for the next destination.

Based on your description I'm presuming that you were travelling on 2 separate tickets, which makes you ineligible for Transit-without-Visa - even without check bags.

On your return trip you stated that "There was no passport or visa check", however there absolutely would have been a passport check, and likely also a visa check. Such checks are carried out electronically - when you checked-in for your flight from Kathmandu the airline would have sent the information to all countries you were passing through, as well as your destination country, and any visa requirements would have likely been checked at that time. Many countries use e-visas now days for most/all viasa, so there is little need to physically check visas in any form.

Unfortunately for you, it is always the responsibility of the passenger to confirm they meet the requirements for entering a country. Many airlines will attempt to assist you with this process - such as Etihad linking to the ITA Travel Center website - but at the end of the day it's your responsibility.

The fact you were allowed do such a connection previously isn't relevant. It's possible that the rules were changed since your last trip, or perhaps even just that India or the airlines have started enforcing rules that always existed but were not strictly enforced previously.