The case of the missing Mac Notebook
Officials in the customs department told Shah items mysteriously went missing quite frequently.
KARACHI:
Saba Shah flew in from Dulles International Airport, Washington on February 23, making her way to Karachi on a Gulf Air flight. When she arrived at Jinnah International Airport on February 25 she realised one of her suitcases’ zips was slightly open. But she didn’t give it much thought and, exhausted from the long journey, headed home.
“When I arrived at the house I checked my bags,” she told The Express Tribune. One bag had the official tag denoting that it had been checked. “However, my Mac notebook was missing from the other bag which had no notification or any indication that it had been checked by the authorities.” Shah, a journalist, immediately began contacting the airline and relevant customs officials in order to trace her missing electronic device.
A slight complication surfaced. While Shah had bought a Gulf Air ticket, due to code sharing, she flew Virgin Atlantic from Washington to Heathrow where she switched over to Gulf. Her luggage, however, was booked straight to Karachi.
“It is pretty simple,” Shah said. “I bought a Gulf Air ticket so they should be responsible. But when I tried to contact them they just shrugged off my complaint and initially even refused to register it.”
Officials in the customs department told Shah items mysteriously went missing quite frequently and that most complaints are either not registered or are ignored altogether.
Shah says her protests were treated in a similar fashion. “I spoke to the head for the air baggage department, Christopher Gomes, who kept insisting that the mistake was mine and that I should have complained immediately. I had to spend a great deal of time just convincing him to give me his email to file an official complaint,” Shah said.
The Express Tribune tried to contact a representative of Gulf Air and Mr Gomes for their version of the incident, but they were unavailable for comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2011.
Saba Shah flew in from Dulles International Airport, Washington on February 23, making her way to Karachi on a Gulf Air flight. When she arrived at Jinnah International Airport on February 25 she realised one of her suitcases’ zips was slightly open. But she didn’t give it much thought and, exhausted from the long journey, headed home.
“When I arrived at the house I checked my bags,” she told The Express Tribune. One bag had the official tag denoting that it had been checked. “However, my Mac notebook was missing from the other bag which had no notification or any indication that it had been checked by the authorities.” Shah, a journalist, immediately began contacting the airline and relevant customs officials in order to trace her missing electronic device.
A slight complication surfaced. While Shah had bought a Gulf Air ticket, due to code sharing, she flew Virgin Atlantic from Washington to Heathrow where she switched over to Gulf. Her luggage, however, was booked straight to Karachi.
“It is pretty simple,” Shah said. “I bought a Gulf Air ticket so they should be responsible. But when I tried to contact them they just shrugged off my complaint and initially even refused to register it.”
Officials in the customs department told Shah items mysteriously went missing quite frequently and that most complaints are either not registered or are ignored altogether.
Shah says her protests were treated in a similar fashion. “I spoke to the head for the air baggage department, Christopher Gomes, who kept insisting that the mistake was mine and that I should have complained immediately. I had to spend a great deal of time just convincing him to give me his email to file an official complaint,” Shah said.
The Express Tribune tried to contact a representative of Gulf Air and Mr Gomes for their version of the incident, but they were unavailable for comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2011.