Family sues Qatar Airways for R2m
A Pretoria family has instituted legal proceedings against Qatar Airways, seeking more than R2m in damages after they were allegedly prevented from boarding a business-class flight to Japan because of what they describe as a minor typographical error on one passenger's electronic visa.
Barend Minnaar Hefer van der Merwe, his wife, Johanna Martha van der Merwe, and their disabled adult daughter, Michelle van der Merwe, have filed a lawsuit in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg), reports The Mercury.
They claim the airline wrongfully refused to allow them to board their flight from OR Tambo International Airport to Tokyo, via Doha, on 14 December 2025, despite holding business-class tickets and what they contend were valid travel documents.
The dispute centres on the man's Japanese electronic visa, which allegedly contained a typographical error in the spelling of his middle name.
Although his middle name is ‘Minnaar’, the visa reportedly reflected it as ‘Miinnaar’.
The family alleges they informed Qatar Airways staff that the error was insignificant because the visa was clearly related to Barend and his identity could easily be verified using the photograph on the visa together with his SA passport, as well as his identity document and driver's licence.
Despite these explanations, the family claims the airline refused to allow all three passengers to board.
In court papers, the family argued the airline acted unreasonably by refusing carriage based on what they describe as a trivial discrepancy when the passenger's identity could readily have been confirmed.
They contend that, even if the father had lawfully been refused boarding, there was no justification for preventing the mother and daughter from travelling because their travel documentation was compliant.
The family is seeking R92 333.45 in financial damages allegedly resulting from the incident.
In addition, they are claiming R2m for alleged impairment of their dignity.
Qatar Airways denied liability for the family's claims and disputes the allegations contained in the summons.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
