Uzbek Student Accuses Wizz Air of Discrimination After Being Denied Boarding without Explanation
Earlier this year, Uzbekistan’s Competition Committee took action against Wizz Air following complaints about the airline’s failure to offer safety instructions in the Uzbek language on a flight from Samarkand to Abu Dhabi. Now, another troubling incident has come to light, this time, involving an Uzbek student who claims he was denied boarding without explanation, possibly due to his nationality. ------- Suhrob Ubaydullayev, a University of World Languages student in Uzbekistan, was returning home after completing a Work and Travel program in Europe. He had booked a Wizz Air flight from Rome to Abu Dhabi, with a connection onward to Samarkand. According to Ubaydullayev, despite having all required travel documents — including a valid passport, visa, and certificates from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency — he was inexplicably denied boarding at the gate. “I had all my documents in order,” Ubaydullayev told The Times of Central Asia. “The staff checked them and gave them back to me, but when I reached the gate, they suddenly said I couldn’t fly. No reason. No explanation.” He claims the airline staff asked him a single question — “Are you from Uzbekistan?” — and upon hearing his affirmative response, refused to let him on board. What followed, he says, was a humiliating and deeply distressing ordeal: threats of calling the police, warnings that his embassy wouldn’t be able to assist him, and a refusal to provide any written explanation. “I was speaking English clearly — communication wasn’t an issue,” he told TCA, “but they treated me like a criminal. I believe it was simply because I’m from Uzbekistan.” Ubaydullayev says that this incident occurred on 31 August 2023. He has repeatedly sent emails to the company requesting compensation. However, most emails went unanswered, or he was told to wait. ------- After being left behind in Rome, Ubaydullayev’s troubles worsened. Because he was denied boarding on August 31, Ubaydullayev was at immediate risk of overstaying his visa, which expired on the same day. This meant that any further stay in the Schengen area would make his presence technically illegal under EU immigration law. He scraped together borrowed funds to fly to Istanbul, where he found himself sleeping on the streets. “I met some Uzbek guys near the Sultan Ahmed Mosque who offered help,” he said. “But they ended up taking my money and disappearing.” His eventual return home took him through Kazan, Russia, and Osh, Kyrgyzstan, before finally reaching Namangan — emotionally drained, physically exhausted, and over $2,000 in debt. Now, Ubaydullayev has accused Wizz Air of discrimination, human rights violations, and consumer protection breaches. He has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights and says his lawyers are currently working through the pre-trial phase. “This is about more than me,” he said. “This is a fight for justice — for every Uzbek passenger who deserves to be treated with dignity.” ------- In giving a legal assessment of Ubaydullayev’s case to TCA, legal expert Azizbek Odilov says the airline’s actions amount to a...
