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Most passengers that boarded Royal Air Maroc (RAM) were left stranded at the Freetown International Airport in Lungi after the carrier failed to jet in their luggage hours after they landed.
Among those affected were former Leone Stars striker, Kei Kamara and Arsenal Fans Television (AFTV) crew who are in town to host a watch party this Saturday at Aberdeen in Freetown.
Passengers were forced to leave the airport after it became apparent that their luggage will not arrive on the same day. They were asked to visit the RAM office on Wilkinson Road in Freetown the following day.
“This is the worst flight I have ever travelled with,” said Robbie Lyle, one of AFTV Crew Members. “I will never travel with this flight (Royal Air Maroc) again.”
Many passengers could be seen outside the carrier’s Freetown office on Friday afternoon searching through a sea of luggage piled up outside the compound.
“Some bags finally made it and they (Royal Air Maroc) called us to get bags,” Kamara said. The football star would have to wait for at least another two hours before an old rickety truck dropped his luggage along with other passengers.
Although the airline is yet to explain the reason for this, but Statista pointed out that transfer mishandling is the leading cause for delayed luggage with failure to load charting second on the list.
Luggage mishandling is causing the aviation industry billions of dollars each year. To curb the issue, the International Air and Transport Association (IATA) drafted Resolution 753 which put pressure on all its members to ensure tracking of bags to take off to drop off.
Royal Air Maroc, one of Africa’s oldest carriers, is a member of the IATA and oneworld alliance along with British Airways, Qatar Airways, American Airlines and 10 others.
The North African carrier could charge up to 150 US Dollars for a luggage generated 1.7 billion US Dollars in 2017 and operates route to at least 80 countries. The flight has been operating in Sierra Leone for over five years now.
