British Airways says sorry for refusing to let Ukrainian family board flight

British Airways has apologised after it refused to allow a Ukrainian family, including an eight-year-old girl, to board a flight to the UK despite them having all the correct travel documents. The family-of-three had fled their home in Kharkiv, which has endured some of the most intense Russian bombing, after waiting more than two weeks to be granted UK visas. They travelled 800 miles to Warsaw airport in Poland, where they were due to fly to London under the UK government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme. Vira Rybalchenko, 68, lost her passport in the evacuation but was assured by the British embassy that she would be allowed to travel because she had a paper copy of the document as well as a newly issued UK visa and a Ukrainian identity card. The family passed through airport security without a problem but minutes before they were due to board their flight Rybalchenko was wrongly told by BA staff that she could not leave without her original passport. BA admitted this was a mistake and issued an apology to the family after being contacted by the Guardian. It said: “We’re very sorry for the genuine error made by our team when trying to follow Home Office guidance and we’ve put measures in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We’re making contact with the family to apologise and will be providing a full refund of their tickets.”<br/>