Porters prey on ORTIA passengers

TRAVEL agents should
advise passengers at
South African airports to
be wary of and report incidents
of extortion from trolley
operators who demand large
amounts of money for pushing
their luggage. Acsa told TNW
that incidents should be
reported at the nearest iHelp
desk or police station.
Gellé Ritchie, Africa safari
expert at Live 4 Africa.com,
says that recently two separate
client groups, fell victim to the
operators and paid between
$70 (R980) and $100
(R1 400) to OR Tambo
International Airport’s trolley
staff for pushing their
luggage. Both groups had
to connect with domestic
flights immediately after
their international flight had
landed and were approached
by the trolley staff after they
had cleared customs. Gellé’s
clients told her that the staff
became “quite aggressive”
when clients offered them
anything less than the amount
stipulated.
The Airport Security teams
are co-operating fully with the
airport-based government
agencies entrusted with the
management and/or removal
of criminal elements, says
Acsa.
Passengers are encouraged
to use only airport-accredited
porters when they require
assistance. They are
identifiable by the orange
uniform that states the porter’s
name and operating number