Sorry for not including the info.
It was not the airline but the Immigration Bureau. My friend’s wife was given the name and telephone number.
My friends email read, “Apparently it's a Department of Immigration decision ... I was given a number of a person at immigration to confirm this. Their surname is Mendoza and can be contacted on 338 45 33 .... (I haven't got through to them yet) It might be best if your friend phoned ...
My wife was very upset ... I wouldn't like to see this happen to anyone else”