My complaint:
On Wednesday March 16th, between 4:30-5pm. We checked in at the Banjul International Airport in route to Brussels and then USA (Adama Saho and Kumba Saho). We checked in at SN Brussels counter, our luggage was checked including our hand luggage to the weighed which was okay by the representative at the counter.
We later proceeded to the boarding area to wait for the departure time. Later that evening we lined up to board the bus to go to the flight. My sister (Kumba Saho) was given the go ahead to live and she left going to the bus, and I followed her, but I, was stopped by one of your representatives who was standing at the door, and he requested me to weigh my hand luggage and I did, but he said it weighed more than 9 kilos. I told your representative that my hand luggage was weighed at the checking counter prior to the boarding gate, and it was okay by them. Your representative however, said I must take some stuff out and put it in the container which was put on the side otherwise I will not leave.
After having back and forth words with the representative at the door, the manager intervened and said, “you will have to take some of your belongings out of your hand luggage for you to leave otherwise you will not leave and we will not be intimidated”. My sister Kumba Saho asked the manager to move to the side to let passenger pass through. She went through the suitcase to take some stuff. The manager however, refused for my sister to go through the suitcase. Your rep said, then said “if you would have taken it easy and negotiate, we will let you go but since this is the way you want, you have to take some stuff out to bring the weight based on our policy”. I told the guy I don’t have money to bribe. Plus, I do know that the representatives at the counter wouldn’t have let me leave if my hand luggage weight more than the expected weight.
My sister then went through my suitcase and took my nieces graduation dress out of the suitcase and put it in her bag. When she did that, the manager then asked my sister also to weigh her hand luggage. They came back and said her luggage and handbag is more than 9 kilos and she must take some stuff out after she was already checked at the checking counter. My sister told the manager that she only has her laptop, calendar, and an empty handbag but still they said she must bring the weight of the handbag and luggage down to 9kilos. She ends up taking her daughter’s graduation clothe with two other clothes and gave it to someone at the boarding gate to be given to her family because they had already left.
Suggested solution:
Find out what do they do with the excess stuff they collect from passengers because they have a container on the side where they asked passengers to put their excess clothes etc which never get back to the passengers. Customer services should be key, and respect should be from both ends (passengers and your staff). Boarding gate and checking counters needs to speak the same language at least when passenger got excess, they will be able to send their excess stuffs with their family while at the checking area instead of going all the way to the boarding area.
