The Kuala Lumpur–Mauritius trip !

Last Saturday’s MK flight from Kuala Lumpur resembled all MK flights from Malaysia these days : full to capacity. One notable fact was that hardly 10% of the passengers were Mauritians. The trip was smooth despite some turbulence, the meal was better and the hostesses pleasant. However, no breakfast, even a light one with yogurt and tea, was served to the travelers who had to wake up at 4 a. m. and travel for an hour to reach KLIA two hours before the take-off. MK is unbeatable when it asks its users to sacrifice to make for the loss on hedging.
Of the large numbers of foreigners, about 50 were destined to our “Free Zone” sector, who chose the longer route by MK than the shorter Emirates one. Good for our national carrier, I thought as a patriot. And one hostess shared my view. This was at the start of the journey.
The elegant ladies, evidently unused to flying, made such a mess that nobody dared to leave their seats or use the toilets. They were all flooded. Some vomited on and between seats and at the toilets’doors. The hostesses were at the end of their wits and finally covered all wet patches with unused blankets, luckily still available though only 2 seats were unused and dispelled the bad odour with some sprays. But they were helpless against the threat posed by coughing fits of some of the passengers.
We have a difficult decision to make. Foreign workers are appreciated for being conscientious and hard-working. They are a good substitute to our compatriots’refusal to join the textile sector and we can’t afford to refuse their services. Can’t the local authorities, the employers and recruiting agents join hands and prepare the recruits for their plane trip and give them a medical test on their arrival here ? This would go a long way in solving MK’s predicament, protect us from invasion of new diseases and allow our government to be more generous with the PRB.
By the way, the extra hardships put on the overstretched hostesses did no dampen down their determination to serve. Hurrah ! The day of chivalry has not yet died.