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Baggage touting syndicate at Changi Airport


Jman888
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i sua ku and this is new to me   [shocked]

Scoot investigating baggage touting syndicate at Changi Airport
David Sun Ang Tian Tian
Jul 13, 2018 06:00 am
 
Scoot and Changi Airport Group investigating after touts are observed offering passengers cut-price rates for excess baggage
 
Budget airline Scoot is investigating claims that a baggage-touting syndicate is operating at Changi Airport.
 
The touts target passengers who have excess luggage by offering them lower rates than what they have to pay at the Scoot check-in counter.
 
A man who requested anonymity told The New Paper that a tout approached his two friends who had excess baggage for their flight back to Chennai in India at Terminal 2 recently.
 
The tout, who gave his name as Raju, said he could arrange for their excess baggage to be checked in for $5 per kg, which is significantly lower than Scoot's rate of $20 per kg.
 
"He said he would keep $1 per kg while $4 would go to the person manning Counter 10," the man said.
 
When they went to Counter 10 and mentioned Raju, the check-in person put in their luggage without charging them. They later paid Raju, who told them that he holds a work permit, $65 for 13kg of excess baggage.
 
HOW SCAM WORKS
 
A TNP team later observed how the syndicate operates.
 
Working in small groups, about a dozen men, believed to be foreign workers, were seen approaching Scoot passengers repacking their luggage.
 
If the passengers accept their offer, one of them would then weigh the baggage and type something into his smartphone.
 
Another man would help the passengers get their luggage checked in, after which the passengers hand him money.
 
Replying to TNP's queries, a Scoot spokesman said the airline is investigating the claims with its service partner, which handles ground services and baggage, and Changi Airport.
 
She said: "Our service partner will remind their staff on the severity of illegal touting activities.
 
"Scoot takes this offence seriously and would pursue necessary disciplinary and legal actions should the claim be true."
 
A Changi Airport Group spokesman said that touting is not condoned at the airport.
 
She said: "Offenders who are involved in touting activities will be issued a Prohibition Order (PO) and civil action will be taken against them if the order is flouted.
 
"In the past year, two people were issued with POs."
 
Ms Gloria James, head litigation lawyer of Gloria James-Civetta & Co, said those issued with a PO will not be allowed to perform certain actions as specified in the PO for a specific period of time, which can range from a few years to a lifetime ban."
 
Criminal lawyer Ravinderpal Singh of Kalco Law said that under the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Act, those caught touting in the airport can be fined up to $2,000.
 
NOT NEW
 
Aviation expert Gerry Soejatman said that this touting activity is not new.
 
"This type of operation has been around for a long time. It is known in the industry that check-in staff have done this from time to time," he said.
 
The last reported case of baggage touting at Changi Airport was in 2011.
 
He said: "What surprises me is that this must have happened for a while for the media to catch a whiff of it before the airline, which does raise a question on the airline's own internal surveillance and controls."
 
Counter-terrorism expert Ivor Terret said the existence of such an operation at Changi Airport is worrying.
 
"Airport employees who are willing to bend the rules for financial gain may also be susceptible to manipulation by terrorist groups," he said.
 
This could pose a greater threat than a scam for passengers to evade paying the full rate for excess baggage, Mr Terret added.
 
"Such corrupt airport staff with access to passenger baggage could enable terrorists to plant explosive devices both in the airport structure and passenger aircraft."

 

 

 

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Twincharged

decadence ....

 

when i was working there I also never hear of check in staff taking pocket money before ...

 

last time the pax and touts will approach other paxs to carry their excess for a "fee" ... but we will warn the other paxs against carrying other pax's baggage.

 

I still rem one huge Indian man who walks with a limp ... always hand-carries about 25 kgs or so with him ... when I was new, I sympathize with him so I let him ... but after a few times and my colleagues warned me, then I knew he was just siamming excess baggage and then I started to make life difficult for him.

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[thumbsdown]  to the person who alerted the authorities .... :a-t9412:

 

Maybe these person working for Scoot .. [sly]

 

I ever paid $260/- for over weight baggage of 2.5kg (US$80 per KG + administration fee) ... :wacko:  

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I refuse to pay such exhorbitant fee...so took out the barang barang and hand carry in a shopping bag :D

 

[thumbsdown]  to the person who alerted the authorities .... :a-t9412:

 

Maybe these person working for Scoot .. [sly]

 

I ever paid $260/- for over weight baggage of 2.5kg (US$80 per KG + administration fee) ... :wacko:  

 

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I refuse to pay such exhorbitant fee...so took out the barang barang and hand carry in a shopping bag :D

 

That's what I did also but already have 7 kg for hand carry, I ask my same flight passenger if he can hand carry for me during boarding. I show him that all clothes only. 

 

After boarding the plane took it back from him and as leaving the plane, there is no maximum weight going off .... :yeah-im-not-drunk:

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I refuse to pay such exhorbitant fee...so took out the barang barang and hand carry in a shopping bag :D

 

Actually I don't mind paying $25/- if I can check in with this syndicates.... [lipsrsealed]

 

Rather then paying hundreds to the airline .... :XD:

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Twincharged

[thumbsdown]  to the person who alerted the authorities .... :a-t9412:

 

Maybe these person working for Scoot .. [sly]

 

I ever paid $260/- for over weight baggage of 2.5kg (US$80 per KG + administration fee) ... :wacko:  

 

Why risk it ??

 

by paying less, you think you earn ... but in actual fact, the staff is just entering a lesser weight that what you are carrying into the system.

 

what is the implication ?

 

load control will use all this "actual" weight to do flight planning ... like how much fuel, where to position the cargo and baggage to ensure that the plane will be flying at optimal weight and balancing.

 

if got more ppl do this, then the planning will go haywire and the balancing of the plane will be at risk and so will the lives of the people on the plane. more than money at stake here.

 

there is no way one can pay less for the weight you are carrying, only pay for lesser weight. and also take note part of the excess baggage charges goes to buying fuel to lift the plane also.

 

some might argue that some paxs travel with lesser than the allocated weight ... but only the load controllers will know that.

The original excess baggage fees is kept by:

- airline

- airport

- govt

 

?

airline will earn but part of it goes to pay for the fuel also.

 

more weight, more fuel ... same logic as cars.

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Supersonic

if everyone in the plane exceed by 20kg, will the plane overload and crash?

 

I think the plane has a buffer for excess luggage and excess weight.

However, if everyone goes through the touts and bypass the system, then it's possible for the plane to overload and crashed at take off.

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Then the airlines better quickly fire those culprits lah... This amounts to cheating the company?

 

Why risk it ??

 

by paying less, you think you earn ... but in actual fact, the staff is just entering a lesser weight that what you are carrying into the system.

 

what is the implication ?

 

load control will use all this "actual" weight to do flight planning ... like how much fuel, where to position the cargo and baggage to ensure that the plane will be flying at optimal weight and balancing.

 

if got more ppl do this, then the planning will go haywire and the balancing of the plane will be at risk and so will the lives of the people on the plane. more than money at stake here.

 

there is no way one can pay less for the weight you are carrying, only pay for lesser weight. and also take note part of the excess baggage charges goes to buying fuel to lift the plane also.

 

some might argue that some paxs travel with lesser than the allocated weight ... but only the load controllers will know that.


airline will earn but part of it goes to pay for the fuel also.

 

more weight, more fuel ... same logic as cars.

 


if everyone in the plane exceed by 20kg, will the plane overload and crash?

 

That maybe is what happened to all those ferries crossing the rivers in dunno philippines, indon or india right?

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