My complaint:
We were a family group of 5 people, my husband, 3 adult children (one in a wheelchair), and I traveling to the United States, we live in that country and were returning home. When we were ready to check our bags, we approached the Copa Airlines counter and they asked us for the vaccination cards and the covid test (we did the antigen test, 3 in Piura at an authorized MINSA center and two at Unilabs, outside the airport, who by the way took them there because their tests were forgotten in Piura). The boy who assisted us saw the tests from Piura and called a supervisor named Nathaly who denied the validity of the tests, at first arguing that it was not the valid format and then that she couldn’t find them on the website (I don’t know what page she was looking at), then I showed her the screenshots that a doctor friend sent me to show them (he works at MINSA) and still, she did not want to accept them and insisted that she could not find them on her page. The lady was very arrogant knowing that she was in control of the situation, she offered to help us but in reality, what she did was lengthen the time until finally, she made us miss the flight due to her whim of not accepting the 3 tests carried out in Piura. She wanted me and one of my daughters to travel since we had the tests carried out at Unilabs, but I could not leave my other daughter (the one who was in a wheelchair because she needs help going to the bathroom and for other personal needs). When she told us that we had missed the flight, Copa took away the wheelchair, leaving my daughter sitting on the floor. The alternative that Miss Nathaly gave us was to buy new tickets which left at 4 in the afternoon for Panama and then stay in a Hotel in Panama until the next day when the flight left for Orlando at 7 am, they deceived us by telling us that they would only charge us $75 per person, but in the end, with all the fees that were added, they told us that the cost of these 5 tickets was US$1,995 plus the extra outside cost of a hotel in Panama, it seemed to us that more than a help it was abuse since we were practically buying new tickets again with them. In addition to the time we were going to spend at the airport without resting, with my daughter in a wheelchair and with my other daughter who was dealing with a severe stomach ache that this whole situation caused her. In the end, we decided to buy 5 tickets on American Airlines to Miami and then to Orlando for a total of US$1,980.29 and we did 3 more tests at Unilabs in case American Airlines did not accept the ones we did in Piura. American Airlines has a system called Veryfly which allowed us to check in very quickly and safely. (My sister-in-law who was also returning home to the United States also had the covid test done in Piura and American Airlines had no problem accepting that test and allowing her to check-in). I don’t want to speculate anything but the insistence of Miss Nathaly not to let us fly seemed to me either very evil or they had oversold the tickets that it seemed perfect to not let us fly and not have to make problems with the other tickets. Furthermore, every time our frustration with the situation made us insist that she help us, she threatened not to attend to us and leave. Talking with one of the girls from Unilabs when I showed her our tests from Piura, they let me know that they had no problem and that they were valid and that we were not the only ones with that problem. Copa and other airlines were rejecting tests from other cities with the purpose of sending them to Unilabs to take new tests paying S . 100.00 per test. Along with us, they also made a lady with a little girl miss her flight due to the same problem of not accepting her covid test. I filled out the Copa Claims book for this situation.
Suggested solution:
I would like compensation for the 3 additional covid tests we were required to take which cost us 300.00 soles. As well as the tickets I had to purchase on American Airlines due to not being given a solution by Copa besides purchasing all new tickets with them.
