Dhawan’s wife, kids stopped in Dubai by airline

Cape Town, Dec 29 (IANS) Indian opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan on Friday slammed the Emirates Airlines for not allowing his wife and kids to catch the connecting flight from Dubai to South Africa.

Dhawan and his India cricket team members touched South African soil in the morning. India will play three Tests, six One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).

Dhawan alleged that Emirates Airlines didn't notify about producing birth certificates or identification proofs of the 32-year-old player's wife Aesha Mukherjee and their two kids.

"Absolutely unprofessional from @emirates. Was on my way 2 SA with my fam & was told tht my wife and kids can't board the flight from Dubai to SA. Was asked to produce birth certificates & other documents fr my kids at the airport which we obviously didn't have at that moment," Dhawan said on Twitter.

"They are now at Dubai airport waiting for the documents to arrive. Why didn't @emirates notify about such a situation when we were boarding the plane from Mumbai? One of the emirates' employee was being rude for no reason at all."

On its part, the airline said that it was merely complying with the South African laws.

"We note that the family was not able to continue their journey together as planned. We regret any inconvenience caused. However, since June 1, 2015, according to South African regulations, anyone travelling to the country with a minor under 18 needs to prove parenthood or guardianship -- while adults travelling alone with their children need to show that they have the consent of their non-travelling partner," said an Emirates spokesperson.

"Like all airlines, we must comply with the laws of every country in which we operate and this is a shared responsibility with passengers, who are required to hold valid travel documents for all countries on their itinerary."