Passenger's romantic gesture at Zurich Airport ends up costing him thousands of pounds
Love hurts: romantic doodle resulted in an ambulance call-out and a pricey bill
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A romantic gesture at Zurich Airport in Switzerland backfired after a passenger’s heartfelt efforts resulted in a hefty bill and drama at the check-in desk.
The unnamed man purchased tickets for himself and two other people to Japan on Finnair and decided to add a special message for one guest on her travel documentation.
The Swiss man, who is of Thai descent, scribbled “duang” – the Thai nickname for “sweetheart” – on his female companion’s boarding pass between her first name and surname.
Upon arrival at the airport, however, airline staff informed the woman that she was unable to check-in because the name on her ticket did not match the name on her passport.
Things escalated further when the woman was told she would not be able to change her name at such short notice and would need to purchase a new ticket for a flight the following day.
The three flying companions agreed that the remaining two passengers should catch their flight as planned, and meet the woman in Japan. According to Swiss news site Tages Anzeiger, however, delays at the check-in desk meant the pair missed their flight and had to rebook their trips too.
This proved to be the final straw for the female passenger, who reportedly fainted at the check-in desk. Ambulance staff attended the scene and, according to The Local, she recovered quickly and without injury.
According to its website, Finnair charges a €30 service fee for a name correction and up to €200 for name changes “in ticket types which allow it”. It also states that the name change fee “depends on both the country of departure and destination.”
One of the UK’s most popular airlines, Ryanair, charges a whopping £115 for passengers to change their name on travel documentation, a fee which costs significantly more than many of its low cost flights
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments