The worst Airline flying into & out of Sierra Leone,Africa

Air France is the worst Airline flying into and out of Sierra Leone and Africa at large. Why? They have a terrible customer service in Freetown, Lungi and on the phone in the US and France. This is true especially when they are talking to African passengers. Their agents lack the simple concept of good customer service. They are rude, unprofessional and not fit to do business in the hospitality business. This airline should be banned from flying to Sierra Leone and Africa. They are losing and leaving behind baggage of passengers during every flight to Sierra Leone. I do not recommend this airline to anyone flying to Sierra Leone or Africa. Especially if you are traveling for business. They lost my baggage and were unable to help me find it. I had to write a public review about them on Facebook to get their attention.

My story started when I arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone. I flew with Air France from Newark Liberty International Airport to Freetown, Sierra Leone via Charles De Gaulle, Paris, France on December 2nd, 2016. I refused to fly with the alternatives due to similar stories I had in the past. One of my luggage was missing for more than 12 days and when I received it, items were missing. I know and understand that it is not unusual for a baggage to be left behind. What prompted me to write this review is the attitude of Air France in the process of locating and delivering my lost baggage. This is so far my worst experience with a Delta partner. I have been flying Delta for years but this experience has given me a second choice and hence the reason for this public review. As a priority member with Gold medallion status, I never anticipated my luggage being delayed without help or customer service agents being rude to me on the phone and in person. If they can be that rude with a Gold medallion member, it is worse for ordinary travelers.

When I arrived in Freetown and noticed one of my luggage was missing, I expected to see a Delta/Air France or some agent to help me with the next steps. There was no Air France or Delta Agent at the Airport. There was one old man pulling luggage and parking them on the side. I later found out that the old man was working for a company Air France contracted to do their dirty jobs with baggage in Freetown. There were more than 30 passengers around whose luggage were missing. We stood there for than 1 hour without help. We started asking for help with loud noises and eventually the old man told us, he is the only one around at the moment and that we will come to help us later. I later found out that there were three other baggage agents inside a room helping passengers who are willing to bribe them. I entered the room and ask them to come outside and help us. They refused and after a while, one of them came outside. They were very unprofessional. They did not communicate to passengers the procedure to fill out the missing baggage forms. After more than 3 hours, I was able to get one of them to fill out the missing baggage form for me. I missed my ferry to Freetown and ended up taking a small risky boat. I was told they will call me when my baggage arrived on Tuesday December 6th and they will deliver it to my address. I waited until December 6th. I did not receive a call and my baggage was not delivered. I visited Air France office in Freetown where I met more unprofessional staff. They told me my baggage did not arrive and they have no further information for me. I called Delta Medallion to track my baggage. The agents on the phone told me my baggage was last checked on December 5th at Paris but they are unable to give me information about its next destination or when I will receive it.
Long story short, I spend more than 12 days fighting with Air France and Delta on the phone and Facebook to get my baggage. During this time, none of their agents used the apology word. Instead they continued to be rude, unprofessional, and fit for purpose. As a result, I had to cancel my Air France return ticket, and buy a return ticket from the alternative airlines. I was not the only passenger in this situations. There are hundreds of passengers flying into and out of Sierra Leone each week and at least 20% of them go through this type of situation. I believe somebody need to raise the alarm and action is needed to correct the situation.

If you ever want to fly to Sierra Leone or some African country, I urge you to reconsider your decision if Air France is on your list of Airlines to fly with. We deserve better in Sierra Leone and Africa at large. Stay away from Air France and buy tickets from the alternatives.