Man Suffered Stroke, Now Stuck In London Hospital

Lost luggage has become an all-too-common occurence for many airline travelers... but to our knowledge, this may be the first report of an airline managing to lose an entire person.

London's Daily Mail reports a woman's elderly father was "lost in transit" by British Airways last month... the victim of a comedy of errors that, sadly, turned tragic.

It all began when Zafer Ghadban, 83, arrived at Heathrow the morning of July 22, for an eight-hour layover. His daughter Mimi said he had been visiting relatives in Jordan, and airline workers were under orders to treat the frail man -- who recently had a toe amputated -- with special care.

Upon noticing what appeared to be blood on the man's bandaged foot, a BA employee deemed the man unfit to fly, and sent him to the hospital. As it turns out, the stain was actually red dye, used by doctors in Jordan.

So far, so good; in fact, one could argue British Airways went above and beyond in looking out for Ghadban's welfare. However, things started to turn when Ghadban returned to the airport shortly before 11:00 pm -- no one, including British Airways workers, has figured out how he got back there -- and airline employees discovered he had missed his 7:45 pm connecting flight to Montreal.

No arrangements had been made for a place for Ghadban to stay while waiting for the next flight out. He wound up sleeping on a bench in Terminal Four, according to the website ThisIsLondon.co.uk.

When Ghadban awoke the next morning, he suffered a stroke and fell from the bench, breaking his hip. He is now back in the hospital... where he is expected to stay for several months, awaiting hip replacement.

Mimi Ghadban described British Airways' treatment of her father "quite incredible."

"My father speaks very little English and is clearly vulnerable," she said. "But when he missed his flight nobody thought to contact his family to tell us what had happened or where he was. Neither had anyone thought to book him on another flight home, help him find a hotel or even check that he was okay. He just got lost in the system."

Adding insult to literal injury, a spokesman for British Airways claims the airline's "duty of care" for the elder Ghadban ended when he was declared unfit to fly, and sent to the hospital.

"British Airways takes the comfort and dignity of all customers seriously," the spokesperson hastily added. "It is the airline's policy to offer assistance at the airport to all passengers with restricted mobility -- We are currently investigating the complaint."

Ghadban's daughter says the family can't afford to send him back to Canada. "He didn't buy travel insurance so it looks as though we will have to pay for him to have an operation here," she said.

So far, Mimi Ghadban says she has yet to receive an apology from British Airways... or any information on her father's luggage, which was sent on to Canada without him.

FMI: www.britishairways.com