I’m looking for advice on whether anyone has successfully received compensation or goodwill payments from Emirates or Turkish Airlines after being denied boarding at the gate, even with valid boarding passes.
Recently, I travelled on a route from Koh Samui to Bangkok to Manchester. I originally booked with Emirates, but due to operational disruptions linked to Middle East airspace issues, we were rebooked onto a Turkish Airlines flight through our travel agent.
We checked in normally, received boarding passes for the full journey, went through all airport checks, and waited in Bangkok for several hours without any issues being flagged.
However, at the gate for the Turkish Airlines flight, we were suddenly told the flight was full and we could not board. Despite having confirmed tickets and boarding passes, we were denied boarding.
We were given very limited support and told to contact Emirates. Eventually, we were rebooked onto a much later Emirates flight via Dubai, which resulted in a total delay of over 10 hours.
Other issues included:
Being promised lounge access in Dubai but then being refused it
Poor and unhelpful customer service throughout
Later discovering there may have been earlier alternative flight options available
A serious personal situation at home (a close family member receiving end-of-life care), making the delay especially distressing
Emirates has since responded saying no compensation is available, although they did not dispute that we were denied boarding at the gate.
Has anyone experienced something similar and managed to successfully escalate or secure compensation or a goodwill payment afterward? Looking for realistic expectations before pursuing this further.
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