Watch: Zikhona Sodlaka receives broken luggage after a flight

by Bongiwe Mati

Award-winning actress Zikhona Sodlaka found herself the next victim of negligent luggage handling when she received her luggage bag crushed after disembarking her South African Airways (SAA) flight.

The Gqeberha: The Empire shared her disappointment on social media in a post that had many people confessing that they had similar experiences.

While a number of airlines often take responsibility for the luggage of their passengers, most airlines outsource their ground handlers.  These include the people who load and unload luggage from the belly of the aircraft.

Sharing this on X (former Twitter),  the mother of one posted pictures of her luggage, tagging the national carrier, she captioned her post:

“I am soo disappointed @flysaa landing in another country and my suitcase is ripped. Like it’s been thrown around. Ndithi I ke ngoku (what must I do now) guys?

Upon seeing the post, SAA tagged their customer care team and responded asking:

“Hi Zikhona, did you open a file for your damaged bag? #CareTeam TM.”

Zikhona also responded asking how they expect her to travel with a broken luggage:

“This airport says in order for me to lodge a complaint I must email you. They have however sent u a report with my name and details. In the meantime I just arrived here, how do I travel further with this suitcase?”

One social media user who also faced a similar issue and had reported it in 2017/2018 already lambasted the airline asking if they only respond to celebrities:

“@fly When are you replacing or paying for my damage bag and stolen belt? This happened in 2017/2018 I reported you acknowledged receipt and up to this date nothing has been done. And I submitted photos. Or you answer Public figures?”

Also see: World Cup trophy safe after burglary at SA Rugby offices