Lost luggage 'worse than H1N1'
2009-11-04 14:28
Johannesburg - A survey by a local travel company has found that South African travellers would rather deal with the possibility of contracting H1N1 flu than the risk of losing their luggage.
The online survey conducted by Travelstart.co.za, a global online travel booking service, found that only five percent of travellers polled considered contracting the H1N1 flu virus the biggest fear when travelling.
According to the survey, 53% of travellers feared losing their luggage most, 30% thought that missing a flight is the major concern, while 13% said they would be terrified of being mistaken for a drug mule and given a full body search - even though about 1 000 South Africans are jailed around the world for crimes relating to drug trafficking.
Baggage pilfering
This comes as the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) announced on Tuesday that it hopes to reduce baggage pilfering in the country to eight bags a day by the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
About 40m items of luggage were reported lost around the world in 2007. This decreased to 32m in 2008.
According to Acsa airport operations manager Bongani Maseko, 30 bags were stolen or tampered with daily at OR Tambo International Airport until recently. This has now been reduced to 18 a day.
"Although Acsa and the airlines have worked hard over the last year to curb theft and misplaced luggage, it is clear that this is still a big fear for both South African and global travellers,” said Stephan Ekbergh, CEO of Travelstart.
"In South Africa around 10 000 personal items were reported lost or stolen in 2008, and this does not include damaged and stolen luggage. Few passengers seem to know that if their luggage is lost, damaged or merely delayed for more than four hours, they are entitled to compensation."
Compensation
Ekbergh said that airlines offer compensation in the region of $20 per kilogram for lost or delayed luggage.
He advised getting travel insurance as protection against baggage theft.
"Although it is important to understand what compensation you are entitled to as a passenger, it may also be prudent to ensure that you have adequate travel insurance to protect your valuables. With travel insurance, you can claim up to R25 000 for theft or damage to your baggage, depending on the amount of cover you opted for.”
He also advised travellers to travel only with carry-on luggage where possible, keep valuable items with them, take a spare set of clothing, place contact information inside and on the outside of every bag, keep luggage stubs for checked luggage, report the loss of checked luggage immediately, and not to pack hazardous goods.