Bidair compromises safety of minors

<p>This complaint was sent 2 weeks ago to ********** - no response received.<br /><br /></p> <p>British Airways/Comair has always strived to deliver a high standard of customer satisfaction , hence when I needed to send my young daughters to Durban unaccompanied I had no qualms about sending them via British Airways/Comair as unaccompanied minors .<br /> <br />In fact I have used the service before and was comfortable that the safety and comfort of the children was of the utmost importance to all crew/staff involved in the process .<br /> <br />Sadly my recent experience with the ground staff has made me revaluate my opinion of the airline as well as selection of service providers . We were advised by the BA supervisor to lay a formal complaint and thus I request you to see below for a detailed account of what transpired .<br /> <br />2 weeks ago, my 2 girls, aged 10 and 5, flew out on British Airways Domestic as unaccompanied minors/assisted passengers . Booking were made directly via the BA call centre.<br />Flight BA6219 <br />Time: at 16.15 (Delayed to 17.15)<br />From JHB ORT to DBN. <br /><br />Our challenges began when Susan Vikaya ( the airline representative whose name I found out much later ) arrived at the assisted passengers lounge to collect our children . Also present in the lounge for the same flight was another little girl (approximately 13/14 years old) . At this point I should mention that Susan didn’t introduce herself to either us or the children , neither did she explain to the children what the next steps were . She gesticulated for them to follow her , which we did along with all three kids until we reached the flight personnel/crew boarding gates . At this stage she appeared to say something to the little girl and then leaves them alone – reappearing a while later with her “Yellow Jacket “ on . Given that she had just left three kids alone in this space, my husband and I were horrified – Surely the concept of Assisted means that there is someone with the children from start to finish ? Please note that at this time she had still not communicated /acknowledged us or our children .<br /> <br />She returns and indicates to the group of kids to follow her , and they pass through the security checkpoint . Once on the other side of the body scanner Susan takes the other child and walks of to the doors leading away from the security area (toward the boarding gates) .<br /> <br />As parents watching from the other side, we are left feeling very confused especially since our daughters are left standing alone waiting for their bags and unsure what to do . Eventually they are able to claim their hand luggage and are still left standing alone with no instruction even though there are plenty of other airport personnel around them . Both Kids at this stage were also starting to feel panicked and confused , an addition to the already traumatic experience of being separated from their parents . Both kids are also struggling with their backpacks , again no assistance offered by any of the personnel hanging around .<br /> <br />We see someone who we assume is Susan in the distance ,gesticulating to the girls to come to her . My eldest daughter is unsure as to whether she should go towards this woman or come back out to us . At this point I was furious , again I will remind you that the reservation clearly indicated both my daughters ages and that they were meant to be assisted passengers . This in my mind would mean that an airline representative would be with my children every single step of the way and that at the least there would be a handover process . If they were already being left unattended within the visible areas of the process, then what would be happening when they moved to areas not visible to the parents ? I would assume that given the high trending rates of child kidnapping and trafficking , that this breach would be a major concern for BA and its crew .<br /> <br />At this stage we try and attract Susan’s attention so that we can talk to her – She ignores us , we then ask the other personnel standing around to please call her . Instead of following through on our request , we are informed that she knows her job and does this ALL the time . I can only assume that “doing this all the time “ means leaving her charges unaccompanied and unassisted .<br /> <br />Opting not to argue with the additional staff, we ask to see a supervisor . Instead we are told that Susan is a star employee and they begin to extoll her virtues as an assister . They still refuse to call either her back or her supervisor . <br /> <br />Frustrated and angry beyond belief , we resort to yelling for our kids to come back out to us . Eventually Susan reappears and when we question her behaviour , her retort is “ she is doing her job and do we expect her to carry our children “ . When questioned about leaving the children alone, instead of responding to us ,she turns and starts complaining to her peers in Zulu. Again we ask to see her supervisor . Her response is to forcibly try and move our children back through to the security area . My children are now terrified and crying uncontrollably . Again the other personnel staff block us and tell us that we are wrong. <br /> <br />Wrong – to assume that there is a safe ,clear process including supervision to ensure that our children are moved from check-in to boarding? <br /> <br />I start screaming in panic and the kids eventually come out the doors, Susan behind them, furious.. My daughters are hysterical and terrified, unsure what is going on. The supervisor arrives (Bongani) and she hears us out. She tells Susan to take the older kid through, she empathises with us, and eventually she assures us that this is definitely unacceptable behaviour and that SHE will personally ensure my kids are taken care off. She holds my 5 year old daughters hand, takes their bags and leads them through calmly. I instruct my eldest daughter to call me as soon as she has boarded and seated .<br /> <br />She called me from the airplane to say that Susan met them along the way and insisted to Bongani that SHE wanted to take them (EVEN AFTER THE SCENE). To her credit Bongani did not let her, however Bongani allegedly started imitating and mocking my comments<br /> <br />Further to questioning the professionalism of Susan, I now need to draw attention to the lack of professionalism of her supervisor . The individual who should be ensuring that processes are followed in a qualitative manner . <br /> <br />Surely this lack of compassion, etiquette and professionalism is unacceptable by any standard and should not be tolerated .<br /> <br />This was without doubt one of the most terrifying experiences we have had as parents and I shudder to think what would have happened if we had not been there . I consider both myself and my husband to be rational ,logical individuals and we don’t believe that our expectations were out of scope .<br />Rarely have I encountered such callous ,unprofessional behaviour as I did during this incident .<br /> <br />I would appreciate a response to this complaint and would appreciate disciplinary action being taken such that no other parent should ever have to endure this .<br /><br /></p>