Afriqiyah Airways, poor service, poor facilities
While modern aviation has taken new dimensions to improve aviation safety and ensure the safety of passengers and luggage in all flights, other airlines such as Afriqiyah has broken every rule in civil aviation.
This is a true bitter experience of a passenger that joined the airline Afriqiyah, a couple of months ago.
"I find it very necessary to write my story for other intending passengers that want to travel with this airline to think twice before making any fatal decision," said a woman residing in Britain. In July 2008, I traveled with my son, an eleven-year-old boy, from the United Kingdom to Accra- Ghana, for a six-week-long holiday.
Even though my luggage was controlled and tagged, right under my watchful eyes, when we arrived in Accra- Ghana, our luggage was nowhere to be found. How could our luggage mysteriously disappear? Afriqiyah officials had no clues to the disappearance of our luggage.
When I called their office in Accra to find out where our luggage was, none of the airline officials gave me a positive answer. On many occasions, they don’t want to pick up the phone when I called. At a certain stage, they felt being disturbed by my constant inquiries. How could such a thing happen to a passenger?
It’s only Africa, one could hear such stories. We are a subject of mockery in the eyes of the developing world due to the way some of us do our things. It takes so many years to build up a good reputation but it takes just a second for a stupid fool to destroy all the good works that had been done.
One shocking thing I also observed was that the toilet on the flight wasn't in good order. A hostess stood by, with a bucket of water and rinses the toilet after each use before someone else enters. It is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.
I spent the whole six week holiday with my son in the same clothes we wore on board the flight from the UK to Ghana. Eventually, we returned to the United Kingdom without a trace of our luggage by Afriqiyah officials.
Three months after my arrival; I received a confirmation call from them that our luggage had been found. I wrote a letter to the airline demanding compensation. Till now they refused to reply to my letter or even to send a word of apology.
Is that an airline I would encourage someone to travel with? She asked. Sometimes passengers make mistakes to join cheap airlines but in the end, they lose more than traveling with the best airlines. A word to the wise is enough.