This is my first time posting something like this, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot and wanted to sanity check my feelings.
I’m an Asian female traveling in Europe for the first time with my family. We chose Emirates because of its reputation. I’ve been to 10+ countries before and check-in has always been pretty straightforward and helpful.
At Budapest, the baggage drop required passengers to scan their own luggage tag barcodes. I wasn’t familiar with this setup and got confused, especially since another staff member had placed the tag on the top handle of my suitcase. I had to lean over the bag to scan it after putting it on the conveyor.
The supervisor stayed seated the entire time and didn’t help, even though the scanner was literally closer to him than me. Instead he said, in a condescending tone, “How do you expect the luggage to go through if you’re leaning on it?” and just watched us struggle.
Things got more stressful after that. We handed over our passports and he rudely told us to remove every boarding pass from them before he’d continue. No patience, no guidance, just attitude. My whole family felt really disrespected.
We weren’t trying to be difficult. We were just unfamiliar with the process and already a bit overwhelmed being in a foreign airport. For a supervisor in a customer-facing role, especially with international travelers, I expected at least basic professionalism.
Am I overreacting here, or has anyone else had similar experiences with Emirates ground staff in Europe?
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