KUWAIT CITY, June 4: As summer holidays are nearing and people are making travel plans, the Arab Times received calls from some expatriates expressing concern over what they called a “trolley mafia” operating in the airport.

When the Arab Times probed deeper, more people seemed to share this view. Past the immigration checkpoint in the airport, travelers use trolleys provided for free to move their luggage to the check-in counters.

However, expatriates complained to the Arab Times that the cleaning staff in the airport force passengers to avail their service for a fee of 500 fils. “They don’t let you use the trolley on your own,” one expatriate noted.

“Many travelers are not even aware that the trolleys are free. These workers operate like a gang, sometimes even behaving rudely to passengers who try to use the trolley declining their service.”
Another traveler recounted his experience at the airport when he had to be tough with these workers to get a trolley. “When I did not relent to their pressure tactics, they gave in. I observed that many other passengers were forced to part with 500 fils after the workers thrust their service upon them.

“In the case of many passengers, the workers loaded their luggage onto the trolleys without even asking their permission. The passengers were surprised when the workers charged them fees for a service that came unsolicited.

“For the cleaning staff this is big business, as thousands travel every day.”

Mathew Francis, who recently traveled to India, had an even more unpleasant experience to share. 
Francis had three pieces of luggage and the cleaning workers refused to give him the trolley without a charge. “The workers heckled at me and my wife, shouting insults, as I refused to take their help.”

In the heat of the argument, Francis misplaced a handbag with many valuable items in it including his mobile phone, a bank draft and currency bills of various countries.

Francis complained to the airport police, and with the help of one of his friends in the aviation sector, he met a senior CID officer.

The officer analyzed the footages from the CCTV and found that one of the cleaning workers who had haggled with Francis was the culprit. The footage showed the man slipping away with the handbag while Francis was not looking.

Francis missed his flight.

The complainants who spoke to the Arab Times said that these tactics to force people to pay for a service they don’t need should be put an end to. “The authorities have to intervene and make sure that the workers don’t crowd around the trolleys and intimidate passengers.”