‘Stuck In A Capsule While They Enjoy Luxury': Indian Woman On Passport Bias

News18

a day ago

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After a flight delay caused her to miss her connection from Frankfurt, the airlines provided a very small, simple room with hardly any facilities.
Travelling often opens our eyes to global disparities—and one Indian woman recently experienced this first-hand due to her passport. After a delay caused her to miss her connecting flight from Frankfurt, she found herself stranded at a German airport. While passengers holding U.S. passports were accommodated in luxurious hotels with complimentary meals, she was assigned a tiny capsule room with minimal facilities.
Sharing her experience on Instagram, she wrote, 'I 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."
She captioned the post with a simple but powerful question: 'Why this partiality?"
Reacting to the post, a user wrote, 'I cried at the VFS office while getting my Schengen visa. I'm giving up my Indian passport the first chance I get."
Another shared, 'I want to complain about the policies of the current government, but then I remember the civic sense of my people."
'I am sorry to hear that, but perks on missed flights are based on the passport. It's 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," a comment read.
An individual informed, 'So you didn't have a Schengen visa, which is required to get into the country. If you did, you'd get all those said benefits. This isn't about your Indian passport."
Another mentioned, 'At least you got a capsule, I have seen people just sleeping on the benches of German airports."
One more added, 'Congratulations you have just understood how underrated our damn passport, and dipping in rank each year."
Currently, India is ranked 82nd on the Henley Passport Index. In comparison, the United States holds the 10th position on the same list.
First Published:
July 01, 2025, 14:17 IST