Passenger waits as OA lounges
A student from Columbia University in New York, who was forced to spend a day at Athens International Airport because a delay in her Olympic Airlines flight led to her missing a connection, asked Kathimerini for help yesterday after OA allegedly refused to allow her into the first-class lounge. Xin Xin Lee flew with OA from Cairo to Athens yesterday morning, but her flight was delayed and she missed her connection to Zurich. OA employees told her that she could catch the next flight to Zurich – this morning. They also said that she could not be put up in a hotel as she did not have a visa for Greece. The student was allegedly told she could only be let into the first-class lounge at night when there were no other passengers there. According to Lee, when she pleaded with OA staff to be given access to the lounge, they threatened to call the police and send her back to Cairo. After seeing a copy of Kathimerini at a newsstand, the student contacted our newspaper to voice her complaint. Following a discussion between Kathimerini and OA, Lee was allowed into the first-class lounge.