Lost bags more feared than swine flu

Only 5% of travellers polled thought contracting swine flu the biggest fear when travelling.

“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 and founder 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,” said Ekbergh.

Compensation

Airlines offer compensation in the region of USD20 per kilogram for lost or delayed luggage. Although this amount is the industry standard, some airlines compensate well above this rate - an example of this is Air Botswana, which compensates at a rate of USD42 per kilogram.

Thirty percent of the travellers polled in the survey thought that missing a flight is the major concern. Although there are about 1000 South Africans in jails globally convicted for crimes relating to drug trafficking, a mere 13% said they would be terrified of being mistaken for a drug mule and given a full body search.

Swine flu has accounted for 5558 known deaths globally and 91 deaths in South Africa.