Passenger with wines causes row on Turkish ferry
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
Istanbul’s ferry firm, İDO, issued a written apology yesterday upon claims. Hürriyet photo
Istanbul’s ferry firm, İDO, issued a written apology yesterday upon claims that a female passenger was refused boarding by a security guard for carrying four bottles of wine in her bag. İDO management immediately issued a statement and apologized for guard’s action.Ceren Sungu was reportedly boarding a İDO boat bound for Burgazada at the Kabataş port when a security guard yelled at her and refused to let her board the ferry because she was carrying four bottles of wine, daily Milliyet’s Turkish gourmet columnist Vedat Milor claimed yesterday in his column.
“Are we living in Saudi Arabia or Iran? Is it forbidden to take wine to our houses? Are we, citizens, not allowed to buy alcohol and take it to our houses?” Milor asked in his column condemning İDO for maladministration.
Misunderstanding
İDO officials confirmed the incident, but stated that the issue had been a misunderstanding.
“İDO has no restriction against closed beverage bottles. An investigation was launched after reports were revealed and the security guard’s actions are being investigated by our administration. We apologize to the mistreated consumer for this incident,” the report read.
Established by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 1987, İDO operates with a fleet of 25 seabusses, 10 fast ferries and 17 vehicle ferries in 18 lines and with 36 terminals. The transportation company was privatized in 2011.
