Load-shedding to blame for SAA woes?

File photo: When The Star checked with SAA's baggage services, the newspaper was informed there was a baggage backlog caused by load shedding.

File photo: When The Star checked with SAA's baggage services, the newspaper was informed there was a baggage backlog caused by load shedding.

Published Dec 19, 2014

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Johannesburg - Travellers flying to Kinshasa have waited more than a week for their bags to arrive at their destination as SAA battles baggage backlogs.

Aurelia Segatti said her husband flew from OR Tambo International Airport to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Saturday.

When he arrived, he discovered that his luggage had not travelled on the plane with him.

He has been going to the airport every day to see if his bags were there, only to find the airport filled with people who were in the same predicament, Segatti said, adding that the airport in Kinshasa was a mess.

“My husband witnessed a porter running away with unattended delayed luggage on Sunday,” she said.

She has been in contact with SAA’s baggage services and said she was informed that the backlog was serious and that the airline was attempting to send hundreds of pieces of luggage to Kinshasa.

Segatti was told the reason for the hold-up was that load shedding last week meant that luggage racks didn’t work, so bags couldn’t be loaded onto aircraft.

But she believed part of the problem was that passengers flying to the DRC were allowed to bring extra baggage onto the plane at R350 a piece.

“My husband travelled with a person who had checked in 13 pieces for one passenger. This probably means a first-come-first-served scenario, and those travelling with the normal baggage amount can be left behind.”

Segatti discovered that the luggage couldn’t be tracked and so they have no idea when her husband’s bags would arrive.

She intends flying out to join her husband soon and was advised to travel with hand luggage only, even though she has paid for a full-price ticket and will be staying for 10 days.

When The Star checked with SAA’s baggage services, the newspaper was informed there was a baggage backlog caused by load shedding. That posed a problem with planes going to Kinshasa because a lot of luggage was destined for that city.

The Star was also advised to travel with hand luggage only.

SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said they were experiencing high volumes of luggage on certain routes at this time of the year.

“As a result of space and weight restrictions, we are not at all times able to accommodate additional luggage quantities. We make every effort to ensure that all luggage is reunited with its owners in the shortest possible time,” Tlali said.

He said that while it was true that there were space and weight restrictions for carry-on luggage, there was no limit on the num-ber of pieces passengers could check in. That was managed in accordance with space and weight.

“We have requested our cargo division to assist with any luggage that cannot be accommodated on the passenger aircraft. This backlog is being cleared and was not occasioned by load shedding,” he said.

Tlali said the affected routes on their regional network included Kinshasa, Libreville in Gabon and Douala in Cameroon.

The Star

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