I HAVE never enjoyed flying in an aeroplane because of the tedious immigration and customs formalities especially at some African airports which treat you like an intruder.
But to be treated like that in your own country when returning from a long trip is most annoying. This week I went to pick up my daughter from the airport as she was returning from the Far East where she had spent five years studying.
The plane touched down at 12:30pm on the dot and I was expecting to see her within 30 minutes, but I was to wait for two and half hours.
Her luggage could not be located on the conveyer belt and I began to feel agitated because I had diverted a relative from her busy schedule, who had a bigger car that would fit my daughter’s two huge suitcases.
I started prancing to and from the exit point trying to locate her from a distance but I could not see her until I approached some airport official who advised me to check with the airline offices at the airport to find out whether she had boarded the plane.
The airline officials casually told me that the luggage was taking too long to disembark from the plane, adding that I should wait patiently.
I have travelled around the world using some reputable African and international airlines to other countries on the continent, US and UK where luggage disembarks as soon as the plane touches down.
By the time you finish immigration formalities, the bags would already have started moving onto the conveyer belt for collection.
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This is a process that hardly takes 30 minutes and off you go to meet your relatives waiting for you on the other side.
In fact when I learnt that my daughter had booked a seat on this plane, I expressed my reservations about this because one of her friends had done that two years ago and only received her bags two days later.
She would travel to and from the Snake Park area in Harare for two days only to be told by airline officials to “come and check on the next flight.”
What an inconvenience!
After two and a half hours, my daughter emerged from the exit point, with just her hand luggage and I immediately knew that the same had happened to her.
She said bags would arrive the following day.
That is when it actually dawned on me that this has become a trend by this airline to ferry passengers, especially those in transit, minus their luggage.
One woman who had come all the way from Australia, a wife of a political analyst, left with her husband in a huff as they also had been told to check on the next flight which would arrive after 2100 hours that night. She was visibly furious.
Seriously, long flights are tiring as you suffer jet lag when you finally touch down and to be told to return two or three times to check on your luggage is far from good customer service. It is unfair because you want to rest and have a good meal and just relax.
The fuel you also burn as you drive to and from the airport, especially for Zimbabweans who are struggling under difficult economic conditions, is just an unnecessary expense which the airline should be made to pay.
What of those that would have come from far away towns like Kadoma or Kwekwe?
There was a family at the airport that had come to the airport from Selous near Ngezi who looked so desperate as their relative told them they had to either return later in the night or the following day.
This is one airline that I have vowed never to fly again following two incidents many years ago when my luggage was ripped open and stuff taken from the suitcases.
Getting compensation was yet another tall order as the bags they replaced were two cheap ones which I later gave away and that is when I said Never, Ever Again.
There are lots of passengers that have been treated this way by this particular airline and to just tell waiting relatives to wait patiently when they actually are aware that that is a usual occurrence is grossly dishonest.
Harare International Airport does not handle many flights a day compared with other airports in the region and such delays do not augur well for Zimbabwe.
My daughter usually used Ethiopian Airlines whenever she travelled to Harare for her holidays from university and never did she encounter such a problem.
This is an efficient and reliable airline.
She decided to use this particular airline for her final return after graduation because it was offering cheaper fares from Hong Kong, but the ups and downs to and from the airport proved very costly in the end.
When we finally went to get the luggage on Thursday, there was the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority that caused yet another long delay.
They accused my daughter of having too many new things. So is a returning resident forbidden to buy new stuff when coming back home?
Can Zimra answer this question please? People living overseas walk on paved streets which leave shoes undamaged and hence look brand new when they finally travel back.
These shoes were not new, but they walked on properly paved streets in China where there is no dust or crevices in pavements to damage the shoes like what happens here.
Zimra officials should be made aware of these facts. Just because we walk on filthy and dusty roads does not mean that elsewhere this is happening.
My daughters’ personal effects looked new. And where on earth would a student find money to buy new items in excess?
I personally dread Zimra officials every time I return from an international trip because they really make you feel as though it is criminal to travel and yet when other people like for example Zambians, Namibians, South Africans get to their destinations, they are whisked through without much trouble.
Is it really necessary to strip bags of returning resident who would have acquired clothes and electric gadgets over years, and even if they are new?
I am so disappointed because returning residents can bring stuff duty free, but some overzealous officers become law unto themselves at these points.
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