No one expects to experience a life-threatening injury while on a birthday trip in a tropical paradise. But that’s exactly what happened to one woman who went to celebrate her 29th birthday in Cancun, Mexico.
After the accident, getting on a flight back home was impossible, a crisis she claims was only worsened by a lack of compassion from Canadian carrier Flair Airlines.
Nina Bakhshi (@ninabakhshi) recently posted a part of a phone conversation she had with the airline’s customer support line in a video that got over 113,900 views.
In the clip, she’s lying in a hospital bed with a neck brace while a text explanation of the events appears on-screen.
What Happened With Flair Airlines?
“On my trip to Mexico, I fell off a bridge and broke my spine,” she wrote in the on-screen text. “The accident happened on May 10 and I had emergency surgery on May 11 at 9 p.m.”
She says her flight was scheduled for May 12 at 7 p.m. “When I was finally conscious enough, I contacted Flair Airlines to explain my situation and ask if they could help me cancel or reschedule my flight.”
“I do understand,” Bakhshi says on the call. “But do you guys have any courtesy for emergency cases?”
She asks to speak to a supervisor, but the agent seemingly doesn’t respond to her request. “But I just wanted to let you know… cancellations due to medical emergencies, death, or serious illness… are subject to cancellation fees,” the agent says in the call. “We cannot make any exceptions for any exceptional circumstances or medical emergencies.”
Most of the call is difficult to make out, but Bakhshi is clearly frustrated about the airline not making an exception.
She continued sharing more details on-screen. “Their response was it’s too late and we cannot offer any new refund or rescheduling!” she wrote. “No sign of humanity.”
Bakhshi says her treatment at the hospital has cost her more than $50,000 thus far, and she has to stay in Mexico until she’s fit enough for air travel.
“I’m left with [a] bunch of maxed credit cards and money that I have borrowed from friends and family,” she continued, “I’m just sharing that and hoping that TikTok can do its thing and have the world see this [inhumane] behavior.”
“Flair Airline you are so evil,” she concluded.
What is Flair Airlines’ Policy on Cancellation Fees?
Flair Airlines is an ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC) and its model is built around lower base fares with more paid add-ons.
According to Flair Airlines, its tickets are generally nonrefundable, and cancellations are subject to fees depending on how close the flight is.
For cancellations more than seven days before departure, Flair lists a fee of $89 to $119 per flight, per passenger. For cancellations more than 48 hour to seven days before departure, the fee rises to $109 to $144 per flight, per passenger.
If a customer cancels within 24 hours of departure, the airline says there is no refund.
Flair also has a separate page for “Non-Refundable Tickets & Extenuating Circumstances,” where it states that it doesn’t offer refunds and fee waivers for cancellations due to medical emergencies, death, or serious illness.
Viewers Show Bakhshi Support
In the comments section, some viewers wanted to know whether Bakhshi had purchased travel insurance, which would’ve covered travel expenses in this case. Bakhshi clarified that, unfortunately, she had not.
While purchasing travel insurance is always a good idea, very few people actually do it for each trip they take. According to recent data, only 15% of travelers purchase travel insurance for every trip. The truth is, most of us don’t think we’ll have to deal with a major accident.
Other commenters suggested she contact her credit card company. “If you used a credit card to pay (not debit), call that company and let them know you didn’t take full service with the airline,” one wrote.
Bakhshi has created a GoFundMe campaign and shared the link with her TikTok viewers. As of this writing, she’s raised over $40,000.
Flair Airlines and Nina Bakhshi did not respond to a request for comment.
@ninabakhshi #flairairlines @Flair Airlines #tiktokhelp ♬ original sound – Nina bakhshi
