Air Niugini must explain

Letters

I AM greatly concerned that it seems that our national flag carrier is robbing citizens in broad daylight in regards to transporting deceased loved ones.
Normally, Air Niugini charges 200 per cent for human remains to be transported or double the normal freight charge.
If you want to transport human remains, you will make a booking and the estimated weight of the casket and body (100kg).
An initial payment for 100kgs must be paid.
Then, on the day of the
flight, the casket is weighed at
the cargo terminal for documentation.
If the weight exceeds 100kgs, you pay the additional costs but if weighs less than 100kgs, you do not get a refund.
Air Niugini needs to explain this.
I’ll give an example:
A body was booked for Port Moresby to Manus.
Excess is K25 per kilo (price differs depending on the destination).
Since its human remains, we are charged 200 per cent (25×2), so it will be K50/kilogram.
An initial payment of K5,000 is made (K50x100kg estimated weight).
However, on the day of the flight, the weight was 150kg, which means an additional K2,500 will be paid.
Despite this being a very costly exercise, now, with the Coronavirus (Covid-19), if the deceased died from Covid-19, the family is charged a 400 per cent excess rate.
Air Niugini must clarify and justify these prices and why we’re not being refunded when the cargo (casket and body) weighs less than 100kg.

Concern Citizen