Posting this as a warning in case it helps someone else.
We were flying SCL → MAD → AMS on Iberia. After a 13 hour overnight flight, we landed in Madrid at 5:30am with an 8:45am connection. We couldn’t check in for the MAD–AMS leg in the app, so we went to the Iberia service desk for help.
That turned into being sent back and forth between three different desks. At the final one, the agent told us our ticket for the last leg had been issued incorrectly. He acknowledged it was wrong, then immediately said there was nothing he could do.
We stayed calm and explained we were exhausted and just trying to get home. His attitude then became openly hostile. He repeatedly said he’d “done his job,” that we didn’t have valid tickets, and told us to leave. He also claimed he doesn’t work for Iberia at all, but for a third party (SOUTH), so it wasn’t his responsibility.
It got worse from there. He told us we should “get a degree” to understand our ticket, said he didn’t care about our problem, and commented that at least he would “get home safely.”
The issue was clearly a ticketing error, not something we caused. The lack of professionalism was honestly shocking.
Advice to others: if you have ticketing or check-in issues at MAD, don’t rely on the Iberia desks there. Call Iberia directly instead.
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