SAA rethinks seatbelt policy after a passenger’s humiliating experience
A frequent passenger had asked for a seatbelt extension, and when she hadn’t received one by the time the aircraft started to taxi to the runway‚ it had to turn back
South African Airways (SAA) is to review its seatbelt extension procedures after one passenger’s humiliation when an aircraft had to "return to ramp" because it had failed to provide her with a suitable belt. When Pretoria-based Kabelo Seitei‚ a frequent flyer‚ boarded a flight in Cape Town in August 2016‚ she asked the cabin controller for a seatbelt extension and was told one would be brought to her. When that had not happened by the time the aircraft started to taxi to the runway‚ she alerted the cabin attendant and the aircraft turned back. It is a requirement of the South African Civil Aviation Authority that every passenger be secured for take-off and landing. After a half-hour wait‚ an attendant clutching a bright orange extension strode down the aisle‚ stopping at row 28 to fasten it around Seitei. And then came an announcement which Seitei‚ an English moderator with the Department of Education‚ remembered as: "We are dealing with some obese cases on board and therefore had ...
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