rejected to onboard to my plane

Question

Hello,I'm Hatidzhe Kodzhaosmanlar. I'm a Bulgarian citizen. I have bought a ticket from kiwi.com for the itinerary from Istanbul to Tokyo.This ticket had 3 flights: Istanbul -> Askabat, Ashgabat -> Pekin with Turkmenistan Airlines, Pekin -> Tokyo Narita with Hainan Airlines. (They don't allow me to online check in)In Istanbul airport, Turkmenistan Airlines employees rejected me to onboard to the plane as Bulgarian citizen given the excuse of I don't have visa for China. I told them that I don't need one because I'm eligible to 24h visa free transit since I'm European citizen and also I can also gain 24h transit visa on the arrival to the Pekin airport due to my Bulgarian passport. They said since it's different airlines that your ticket from Pekin to Tokyo, we need to see a visa beforehand. So I have got rejected from my flight due to ignorant employees of Turkmenistan Airlines and wasted 400CHF that nobody is refunding me. Could you please confirm if I'm eligible to get 24hours visa free transit upon arrival to Pekin airport with the ticket I have so that I can show this to Turkmenistan airlines to prove that I was eligible to onboard but it's their mistake that they didn't know the rules and I can try to get a refund. Also could you advice me where can I get this information's legal confirmation? Immigration of China? I really don't know who to ask and how to get my money back.Thank you for your help.Best regards,Hatidzhe Kodzhaosmanlar

Borut · Answer

Hatidzhe, you were denied of your right and you were rejected because of the ignorance if Istanbul airport authorities. This is so clear situation and I am so sorry to hear that. You had every right to travel to Japan via China (Beijing in your case) and this exact thing is clearly presented in Timatic database that is available to every check-in employee. Also, it is important to emphasize that traveling on separate tickets and on unrelated airlines is definitely allowed and the Chinese rules and personnel have no problems with that.You can find official explanation on National Immigration Administration website where you will see the subtitle: Visa-Free Transit Policies for Foreign Nationals. Click on this subtitle and you will clearly see the official explanation of all the visa free transit rules 24, 72 and 144... Here is the quote:In line with global norms, China has implemented a 24-hour visa-free transit policy for foreign nationals from all other countries around the world at all its accessible exit-entry ports. Foreign nationals holding valid international travel documents and connecting tickets with confirmed seats, who intend to transit via China by international flights, ships, or trains to third countries or regions, are exempt from visa applications, provided that their stay periods in China will not exceed 24 hours and that they will remain within the corresponding ports. Those who plan to leave the ports must apply for temporary entry permits at the exit-entry border inspection authorities of the corresponding ports.

rejected to onboard to my plane

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