I magine being excited to travel outside Malawi, your destination is set and your bags are packed. You travel and buy expensive items but when you land in Malawi, your luggage is nowhere to be found.
This is what happened to Priscilla Mhango earlier this year. And to top it off, getting a refund? Forget about it. Settle in as we catch up with her and hear all about her battle with the airline. This is the real deal– lost luggage, zero refunds, and a whole lot of face palms. Let’s dive in and unravel the chaos. Priscialla Mhango had this to say about her ordeal: “Last year, I went to buy a ticket with a certain airline to travel to Morocco.
I travelled some time in November 2023 and I returned to Blantyre on the 29th of November 2023. When I landed I realized that my bag was missing. I then proceeded to follow up and call the airline but eventually they stopped taking my calls and responding to my emails.
Then I travelled again in December and returned in January. When I came back in January, I went to their office and was told that my bag is still missing but they can compensate me $300. I refused this offer because my bag was 19kgs and they refund $20 per kg which didn’t make sense to me because they had asked me to list down the items and their value. Towards the end of January, the bag arrived but when I went to pick it up I realized that it was less 2kgs.
Those 2kgs were very expensive items. These items were expensive wigs and perfumes amounting to $2400/2500. So their argument is that they will refund K68, 000 which is equivalent to $40 for the 2kgs that are missing because it doesn’t matter what’s in the bag which sounds absurd to me.” Soon after this, Priscilla set up camp at the offices of the airline in an effort to get compensation for her missing luggage. She was determined to show up at their offices everyday until the airline refunded her. “When I started camping out at their offices, they didn’t say much but on the 1st of March they said I could no longer enter the premises even though I didn’t cause any chaos, I would just go in and sit. After that, they called the police on me and they told me to leave the premises because I had posted this story on my social media. So, I have decided that I will be taking legal action until they refund me the full amount that they owe me.”
When the FYI team reached out to the airline on this issue, we were told that they could not comment as it is now a police case. With no resolution in sight, Priscilla Mhango’s luggage saga highlights the frustrating hurdles travellers often face dealing with airlines. It’s a reminder that the travel game isn’t always smooth sailing. However, we hope that her tale nudges airlines towards better customer service and smoother processes.
After all, sharing stories like hers can steer us towards a brighter, hassle-free travel future. So, here’s to smoother skies and fewer lost bags for all of us out there.
