My flight from Cape Town to Washington DC on 28 April was delayed with an hour. As a result the aircraft landed at ORTIA an hour later and I had to run to reach my gate in time. The staff at the gate insisted on searching through my hand luggage despite it being cleared through the official security check before passport control. The staff member found a small roll-on in my hand luggage, which was inside a plastic bag. She confiscated it and performed a triumphant dance waving the roll-on at me. Arriving at Washington DC I learnt that my luggage did not make it onto the flight. I opened a lost luggage file and was given a form with a tracking website and two numbers to phone to track the progress. I phoned several times per day to both numbers in the following days without getting an answer. I left a message every time. The website consistently said "Still tracking. Check back later". I was attending an academic conference in Ottawa and had to acquire new suitable clothing. On 5 May I phoned the general lost luggage counter at JFK airport. I was informed that my luggage had been at Washington DC since 1 May! I regularly fly nationally and internationally - but never again with SAA!
0 comments