Today, I will not speak about an ugly thing that occurs in front of the dilapidated Jeddah airport. And this isn’t likely to change just by changing management or promising to improve services.
Today, I want to highlight a new phenomenon inside the chaotic airport. By mentioning this problem, I hope whoever is responsible can resolve it.
There is clearly an absence of supervision inside the airport. The power of companies with non-Saudi employees has taken control of the airport.
Immigrant employees have created a small syndicate inside the Northern Terminal to blackmail arriving passengers. For SR10, these employees are supposed to transfer the luggage from terminals to taxi using trolleys. Once outside, however, these workers hold luggage to ransom.
For example, I observed an Asian worker who was blabbering while holding onto an old lady’s luggage. After she gave him some money, he continued to hold onto the bags. She ended up handing him SR100, then SR200. The worker refused to let go of the old lady’s luggage until she gave him SR300 as a charge for transferring her luggage from the terminal to the taxicab.
This type of things happens because honest decent people do not supervise the airport. As the old lady was about to enter the cab, a citizen hurried over to return her money. The citizen scolded the worker, telling him that SR300 can be paid to carry someone’s luggage from Jeddah to Madinah.
Imagine that: Instead of airport staffers, a Saudi citizen had to intervene to save an old lady from being ripped off.
If you do not believe the incident I just mentioned, and you have relatives or friends working at the airport, then ask them about their ruses and you will find out for yourself.
