Big plans to cut baggage theft

2009-12-10 21:12

Cape Town - Airports Company SA (Acsa) has "ambitious" plans to reduce luggage-pilfering at OR Tambo International Airport in the coming year, Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele said on Thursday.

In reply to a Parliamentary question, Ndebele said that 0.9 bags out of every 1 000 were pilfered at OR Tambo International Airport in the last financial year, well below the world benchmark of one bag out of every thousand.

"Acsa's management team has set an ambitious target of a threefold improvement to 0.3 bags per 1 000 for the fiscal year of 2009/10," Ndebele said.

OR Tambo processes around 20 000 pieces of checked-in luggage a day and a similar volume in arriving baggage.

The Baggage Protection Unit was established at South African airports two years ago after a string of reports of pilfered luggage.

In August Parliament's portfolio committee on transport said baggage pilferage at South African airports was well below the world benchmark.

Acsa managing director Monhla Hlahla told MPs that in most cases of theft out of luggage during international travel, Acsa had found the bag had already been tampered with by the time it was registered on its system.
 

- SAPA