Baggage handling

I refer to the ongoing debate in The Times regarding baggage claims. In our capacity as ground handlers for BritishJet, Globeground Malta would like to address some evident misconceptions.

Having access to comparative statistics from a number of foreign carriers we handle locally, we can emphatically state that Malta compares very well to other European airports which are served by these same carriers. The overall incidence of baggage claims on flights from Malta is below their network average.

BritishJet's performance in this respect is no exception. The airline is handled up to the most stringent industry standards and its track record on baggage is at par with that of other, bigger carriers. Statistics on BritishJet do however show a trend which is, to say the least, strange.

Maltese nationals, who represent under 10 per cent of the airline's total passenger load, account for over 64 per cent of all damage claims filed. Given the random and indiscriminate nature of possible handling-related damage, I can find no plausible explanation as to why any particular category of traveller should be 16 times more likely to lodge a claim for alleged damage to their baggage.

Yet, such a huge variance can barely be dismissed as insignificant or merely coincidental.

Ultimately, I leave it up to readers to draw their own conclusions.

There are many experienced people who are on the ground, routinely dealing with such matters, who do have their own views in this regard... honest, hardworking airline and ground handling employees who patiently try and reason with passengers who expect to claim for damage to hand luggage, while ironically having to contend with unjust attempts to undermine their own integrity and professionalism.