Airlines drag feet on goods stolen in transit at airport

New Delhi: Heritage activist Firoz Bakht Ahmed claims he found goods worth over $4,598 missing from his checked-in baggage at IGI Airport on October 19. With no receipts or declared list of goods given before commencing travel, there is little chance that he will recover the entire amount.
Ahmed, who teaches at a prominent public school, was returning to the capital on a Continental Airlines flight from Newark. He had accompanied three students to the US for an exchange programme and had to miss his original flight since a student was not allowed on board. The two took a flight next day but their baggage had been sent a day earlier.
"My student had an open ticket and the Continental staff did not permit her to board the flight on October 17. The airline told us our baggage had been offloaded and we could collect it from their counter next day before the second flight. However, when we asked for it, we were told it had already been sent to Delhi on some other airline," said Bakht.
Bakht was in for a shock at IGI. "I was carrying two bags. The first was a duffle bag that was completely torn from one side and practically empty. The airline staff told me to fill up a form and send them the details later. However, I made a list of all the items that were missing and submitted it immediately. The bag contained gifts I had purchased for family and friends worth $3,288. When I reached home, I realized that my second bag had also been tampered with and clothes and other goods worth $1,310 were missing from it. The airline has so far sent just an acknowledgement of my complaint and said it will take 45-odd days for them to sort it out," claimed Bakht.
30/10/11 Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: airports Oct 2011, Foreign Oct 2011