A Disappointing Experience with FlySafair

I used to believe that FlySafair was the best airline in South Africa, and I often recommended them to my friends and colleagues. However, my opinion changed after an incident in January this year.

I was traveling to Cairo, Egypt, and flew from Durban to Johannesburg with FlySafair to connect with my Egypt Air flight. Upon arriving in Johannesburg, I discovered that my luggage was missing. After being directed to the Menzies Baggage Service department, located on the other side of the international terminal, it was revealed that my luggage had been mistakenly sent to Cape Town. It could only be returned to Johannesburg the following day. Unfortunately, I had to leave for Cairo without my luggage, as I was scheduled to facilitate a week-long conference.

I was informed there was no flight from Johannesburg to Cairo the next day, meaning my luggage would only arrive in Cairo two days later. I had to take a taxi to purchase new clothes. When my luggage finally arrived, I sent a manager to collect it, but he was told that only I could pick it up in person. The lost luggage department at Cairo Airport is only open until 13:00, forcing me to wait an additional day and interrupt the conference that morning to collect my luggage. To do so, I had to purchase a permit to enter the security zone, which took over an hour to obtain before I could take a taxi back to the hotel.

Since January, we have been struggling to get reimbursed for the expenses incurred. Despite speaking with numerous individuals at FlySafair, we have only received empty promises that we would be reimbursed for the clothing expenses, with nothing else addressed. I have not flown with FlySafair since, and I am deeply disappointed by their lack of concern in resolving this issue. Like many organizations today, it's impossible to reach a senior manager who can actually make decisions, and no one from FlySafair has even contacted me personally to apologize.