Emirates check in counter South Africa plagued with racism

Arriving at O. R Tambo International airport on June 23,2011, at least two hours ahead thinking that I would check in my luggage at the Emirates counter and then have a sumptuous lunch with my folks before leaving was simply a plan that was too good to be true. On arriving at the check in counter I was amazed so see that all the check in staff were white male Afrikaans speaking South Africans. There was not one person of colour. I found this very surprising since South Africa considers itself a rainbow nation. Dad and I waited in the queue.I was dressed in full arabic attire. Arriving at the check in counter we were greeted quite half heartedly by the white gentleman who then said we needed to pay for being 1kg in excess... Yes!!!! No kidding 1kg...I was shocked. I couldnt believe this. I usually travel on emirates airlines at least 5 times a year and didn't expect such a ridiculous situation. Also bare in mind that I had absolutely no hand luggage with the exception of a small hand bag for my travel documents. To avoid the hassle of unpacking the bags dad decides to go to the emirates ticketing counter and pay R250 for the excess 1kg luggage. In the mean time I waited at the counter with the bags. Another middle eastern family approaches the counter and once again they are asked to pay for an excess of 1kg as well. So off they go to the counter to pay the excess. Then I noticed a line of white afrikaans speaking south africans and naturally the attitude towards them was different, more kind, friendly and jovial.Suddenly whilst waiting I see one of the check in staff stand up and go to his supervisor who was sitting directly in front of me. He tells him "It is 32kg. Can we let it go. Two kg over". The supervisor smiles and says "Let it go". So when I heard this I went up to the supervisor and asked him "Why are you doing this injustice? Why do I have to pay for 1kg in excess and you letting 2kg in excess go through." The man was such an idiot. He was under the impression that I am a middle eastern, arabic speaking woman who does not know English. Instead of handling the situation in a calm, polite and appropriate manner, he started shouting and screaming at me at the top of his voice saying how dare I interrupt his conversation and that the passengers were in a group so their total weight balances so its no problem if they are 2kg in excess. Now it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that the man was talking absolute rubbish. If the passenger was in a group and the weight balanced off, why then did the man at the check in counter need to stand up and seek permission from his supervisor to allow the 2kg excess to go through. On top of it he stated that the passenger was going a different route so 2kg in excess is quite ok, but I seen the passenger checking into the same flight as myself and the other middle eastern family that was asked to pay.

The supervisor was unprofessional. He hid his name underneath his jacket. He was a white Afrikaans speaking man with a beard and spectacles.He was soo rude he even shouted at a group of Chinese passengers that lost their way as they didnt understand a word of English. Instead of helping them he was mocking at them in Afrikaans with his other colleagues.
I didnt expect Emirates to be hiring such uncultured, rude, racist individuals especially since they market themselves as a world class airlines.

Any way, on arriving in Dubai I went to the airport complaints office and when I showed them the receipt for 1kg in excess luggage, the officials were actually laughing and couldn't believe it. I have travelled on many airlines across the world and all of them will give passengers a leeway of 1-2kg in excess to go through. Infact Saudi allows even 5kg to go through. It is part of their customer satisfaction policy.

I have written a letter to the highest authorities in Dubai demanding a reimbursement for the money paid as well as a written letter of apology. I wonder if they will take this matter up as in my opinion it is serious.I thought that racism is abolished in South Africa but I am afraid that racism still exists especially amongst White Afrikaans speaking South Africans. To add insult to injury, as soon as I turned my back after confronting the supervisor, he then talks about me in Afrikaans to his colleagues saying."Gee vir my haar vol details..(Give me her full details whilst whispering to each other. I think he felt that I could cause him problems and mind you that is exactly what I am planning to do.

A colleague of mine who flew Emirates airlines a month ago was diagnosed with food poisoning after eating the plane food. Up until today he is yet to receive compensation and is now taking legal action against the airlines. Another colleague of mine did not receive compensation till today for luggage that went missing on an emirates flight returning from the UK.Again, she is threatening legal action until her case is taken up and resolved.

Will I be flying emirates again? Well the answer is definitely NO!! If I can avoid using them I will definitely not use them at all. They market themselves as though they are the best in the world but I can assure you that I have travelled on other airlines that have offered better service and respect to their passengers. The Emirates check in counter in South Africa is racist and the world needs to know about this and to set the record straight I didn't mind paying a fee for an excess of 1kg, but why should I be paying when other passengers didn't. Was I treated in this manner simply because I wore an arabic styled abaya with a headscarf or was it because of the colour of my skin? It is quite sad that these same ignorant white Afrikaans speaking men fail to realise that they work for an Arab based company. Their families are being fed by Arab money.If you have faced similar airport or travel issues please share them on this blog. It is about time that consumer related issues as well as issues related to discrimination come to the fore.