Calcutta/New Delhi: 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.

The left-handed opener and his India team members touched South African soil on Thursday night. 
Dhawan alleged that Emirates Airlines didn’t notify about producing birth certificates or identification proofs of the player’s wife 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 wrote on his Twitter handle.

“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.”

However, a spokesperson from the airline said it was just following the rules. 

“We note that the family was not able to continue their journey together as planned. We regret any inconvenience caused,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“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.

“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,” the spokesperson added.

One of the replies in response to Dhawan’s tweets suggested child trafficking in South Africa being one reason why the airline asks for birth certificates. 

Dhawan then responded, saying, “Agreed and respect tht still its there responsibility to tell that at mumbai airport not at transit.my family would have stayed at home and got d documents.”

India will play three Tests, six One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in their tour of South Africa.

The first Test is at Newlands in Cape Town from January 5.