By Surbhi Kaul
Travel often highlights global inequalities and one Indian woman recently encountered this stark reality because of her passport. After missing her connecting flight in Frankfurt due to a delay, she found herself stuck at a German airport. While travellers with US passports were offered stays in luxurious hotels with complimentary meals, she was assigned a compact capsule room with limited amenities. Detailing the ordeal on Instagram, she wrote, 鈥淚 never really cared about my passport until now. My flight from Frankfurt got missed because the connecting flight was delayed. So while other passengers are getting free stays at five-star hotels, free breakfast and free dinners, I am stuck here, in this stupid capsule. Any other US citizen in my position would have been so happy because they just got free everything and twenty hours to explore a new country, but not me because I have an Indian passport.鈥 She accompanied the post with a caption that asked, 鈥淲hy this partiality?鈥 Her experience sparked a flurry of responses online. One user commented, 鈥淚 cried at the VFS office while getting my Schengen visa. I鈥檓 giving up my Indian passport the first chance I get.鈥 Another added, 鈥淚 want to complain about the policies of the current government, but then I remember the civic sense of my people.鈥 Someone offered a clarification, saying, 鈥淚 am sorry to hear that, but perks on missed flights are based on the passport. It鈥檚 based on airline policy, subject to you having a visa, in the country where you missed your connecting flight. I have stayed in a good 5-star hotel with pickup and drop from Turkish Airlines back in 2022.鈥 Another user pointed out, 鈥淪o you didn鈥檛 have a Schengen visa, which is required to get into the country. If you did, you鈥檇 get all those said benefits. This isn鈥檛 about your Indian passport.鈥