Extract from the Muscat Daily
Four Omani girls arrested, handcuffed and deported by UK immigration after missing their flight
By Shaddad Al Musalmy
Four Omani girls studying in Holland were arrested, handcuffed and deported by UK Immigration and Visas after they missed their flight from Holland to UK and arrived on a different flight.
Speaking to Muscat Daily, the girls said that they were detained at London's Stansted airport after arriving there from Eindhoven in Holland.
They had missed their flight from Eindhoven, and then managed to take another one a few hours later – however, this delay was reason enough for the immigration authorities at Stansted to be suspicious and deport them. The girls, who had planned to be in London on a short break from their studies, also claimed that they were not allowed to contact the Omani Embassy in London for assistance despite repeated requests.
Talking about their London nightmare, Adhraa Said Hamed said, “It all started on Friday, February 13, when we missed our 8.40pm flight to London. So we took the next available flight which was at 8am the next morning. In London, the immigration official checking our papers noticed that arrival date according to the electronic visa waiver was for the previous night. We explained to him that we had missed our flight and had taken the next available flight.”
The four girls were told by immigration officer that they should have arrived within eight hours of the earlier flight. They were then asked to pick up their luggage and detained in two separate rooms where security officials proceeded to search them and their luggage. They were fingerprinted, photographed and told that they were to be deported on the next available flight back to their port of origin, according to Feithla Faisal al Abdul Salam, another of the detained girls.
The four girls were told by immigration officer that they should have arrived within eight hours of the earlier flight. They were then asked to pick up their luggage and detained in two separate rooms where security officials proceeded to search them and their luggage. They were fingerprinted, photographed and told that they were to be deported on the next available flight back to their port of origin, according to Feithla Faisal al Abdul Salam, another of the detained girls.
What I cannot fathom is why would they be deported over a delayed flight, the reason is inexcusable and something that should be considered as "normal" in the airline industry.
Can you imagine these girls shock as to what was happening to them? and their parents dilemma of not knowing the whereabouts of their children?
Aishelaqtta ايش اللقطه
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The same thing happened to my husband and I, in Holland, and in Ireland, and we had no issues... wonder what else might have made the immigration peeps suspicious?
ReplyDeleteeven though , they shouldn't be treated like that
ReplyDeleteOmani Government should follow up the issue
I don't think missing a flight makes anything suspicious!! We demand am instant reply and apology!
ReplyDelete"i demand to speak to the Oman Embassy". Why? The visa was issued by the UK and is nothing to do with Oman. Didn't they read the rules regarding their visa?
ReplyDelete"The parents didn't know where their children were". They were in the UK, where they had planned to be.
Fingerprinted and photographed.... Just like every resident of Oman, and like all suspected criminals in thE UK.
Perhaps these three will LEARN TO FOLLOW THE RULES.
They are young students who wouldn’t bother to read the fine print and if we are to point fingers then it was the airlines mistake for allowing them to board without checking their visa status, which was why they need to go back with the same airline.
DeleteRegardless they shouldn’t have been handcuffed like criminals and paraded for everyone to see.
Surely there's another side to this story as well
ReplyDeleteAt least the whereabouts of the adult WOMEN (not girls) was known unlike if if foreigner is arrested for whatever reason in Oman, no phone is allowed, no phone call to the embassy, no one will be informed and this could drag out for months. So i think the bottom line is, abide by the the rules/procedures of whichever country you are visiting and without a valid visa how can you expect to enter a country.
ReplyDelete