Dear airlines, handle our luggage carefully
passenger shaming on planes: highlighting issues or embarrassing fellow travellers?
CLINTON MOODLEY
FROM clipping their toenails to airing their rancid shoes using the plane’s air conditioning and resting their dirty feet on someone else’s seat, the actions of passengers on a plane can make you turn green.
In this age of technology, going viral after doing something grossly embarrassing is something that everyone fears. Passenger Shaming, voted Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Best Instagram Accounts”, exposes the bad habits of plane passengers.
The page, created by former flight attendant Shawn Kathleen, has showcased behaviour that would make anyone cringe. But not all wacky behaviour warrants a shameful recording. Those who readily pull out their smartphones need to ask themselves an important question: Is snapping a video to garner likes and comments worth embarrassing a fellow traveller?
EATING CORN
While some of the videos make for riveting viewing, others are done in poor taste.
Like the woman filmed eating corn on the plane. Oblivious to someone capturing her flight snack indulgence, she savoured every bite while she listened to music on her earphones.
Last year, a video of another woman enjoying a stick of celery during a flight went viral. The unidentified woman packed her celery sticks as her mid-flight snack option. In the video, she broke the celery into pieces before she tucked into them.
While some praised her for carrying her snacks, others weren’t too kind in the comments section.
ISSUE OF CONSENT
I’m a big fan of naming and shaming passengers who behave poorly on board a plane.
Like the man who repeatedly punched on a fellow passenger’s reclined seat in the hopes of her converting back to a seating position.
Or the passenger who lit a cigarette while seated in the aisle seat (smoking is prohibited on planes).
If it endangers the lives of the cabin crew and the passengers, video evidence is vital and it gets my vote.
However, capturing video of people eating, sleeping and any other non-harmful but potentially embarrassing activity is a no-no.
We need to respect fellow air travellers. How would you feel if someone videoed you doing something embarrassing?
CLINTON MOODLEY
DJ Zinhle having her luggage broken into is just one case out of thousands.
For those who do not know, the South African personality had her luggage broken into during a recent trip to Durban.
The Umlilo hitmaker called the experience “invasive” and did not report the matter as she felt “they (the airline) don’t really care”.
She highlighted a serious issue that travellers face daily.
I understand her dilemma. When I returned home from an international trip in November, I had the lock on my bag tampered with during a connecting flight from OR Tambo International Airport in Joburg to King Shaka International Airport in Durban. My bag was in perfect condition when I collected it at the Emirates carousel at OR Tambo.
I found no dents and the lock remained intact. However, somewhere between that flight back to Durban, someone broke the lock of my bag and left many dents. Too tired to report the issue I let it slide. Thankfully, nothing was stolen as my valuables were in my carry-on.
CHECKING IN
Airline staff need to treat our luggage with some respect. I heard rumours that some staff open bags to check the contents before being loaded on the plane.
Some videos on Youtube show baggage handlers throwing bags down a flight of stairs, stealing items and other videos that may make you reconsider checking in your luggage.
While one would never know what happens between the check-in process until take-off, it’s important to safeguard your bag’s contents before check-in.
REPORT
Tired travellers, unless their luggage is missing, do not want to report damaged bags as the thought of spending time filing reports makes them think twice. After travelling for 24 hours, all I wanted was a hot shower and my bed.
I wanted to tweet about the experience, but that wouldn’t have been fair as I did not report the matter to the airline to investigate.
Report baggage issues immediately. Assess your bag once you have collected it at the baggage carousel. Check if there is any damage or if the bag has been tampered with. If there are any issues, make a complaint. The more issues reported, the better the airline can handle the situation.