"Rude Employees": Indian Grandmaster's "Worst Experience" With British Airways

Indian chess Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has hit out at British Airways after having the "worst" travel experience with the airline. The 21-year-old, seeded No.1 for the upcoming FIDE Grand Swiss 2025, spoke out about an involuntary downgrade, unresponsive staff, and baggage delays.

"Worst experience flying with British Airways," Mr Erigaisi wrote on X.

"Involuntarily downgrade, rude employees, no communication, bags delayed for over 48 hours. This is frustrating. Messages, emails, forms, everything done & submitted. It's been over 2 days, and still no word. I don't know how an airline can afford to treat its customers in this way. Even worse part is I've to fly back with you," he added.

Worst experience flying with the British Airways. Involuntarily downgrade, rude employees, no communication, bags delayed for over 48 hours. This is frustrating. Messages, emails, forms everything done & submitted. It's been over 2 days and still no word. I don't know how an…

— Arjun Erigaisi (@ArjunErigaisi) July 14, 2025

The post went viral.

A user on X wrote, "British Airways is one of the worst airlines in the world. If you ever travel to Europe, you should take Qatar Airways or Emirates. If you travel to Asia, you should pick Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific. If you go to US, you should take Qarar Airways, Singapore Airlines or United. If you go to Canada, you should take Singapore Airlines or Air Canada."

Someone pointed out that legendary cricketer "Sachin Tendulkar had a similar experience."

Another user shared, "My Experiece with British Airways has been the worst. I flew with them several times right from my study years. They don't believe in treating the customer right. The staff extremely arrogant and unprofessional , not to forget their flight delays and missing baggage's."

However, British Airways has not responded yet. 

Mr Erigaisi's post comes weeks ahead of one of the most important tournaments of his career - the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025, to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from September 3 to 16. The tournament is a key qualifier for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which determines the next challenger for the world chess championship.

Mr Erigaisi, along with reigning world champion D Gukesh, has been seeded at the top of the 172-player field, which includes 116 players in the Open section and 56 in the Women's. The top two finishers in each division will qualify directly for the 2026 Candidates.

India's challenge at the Grand Swiss will also feature R Praggnanandhaa, seeded fourth, as well as a mix of seasoned Grandmasters and rising stars. Global heavyweights like Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Levon Aronian, and Anish Giri round out a formidable lineup.

The tournament's prize pool has been raised to $625,000 (Rs 5.37 crore) in the Open section and $230,000 (almost Rs 2 crore) in the Women's.