>From: Malamin Johnson <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Five bad flights in Africa >Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 19:41:31 +0000 > >I am sure there are worst horror stories than these. Enjoy > >MJohnson > >Five bad flights in Africa >This week BBC Africa Live! is looking at the problems of flying in >Africa. >Below, some of our journalists and contributors outline their worst >experiences. > >Ofeibea Quist-Arcton (ex-BBC Network Africa) > > >One of my favourites is when you are sitting on the aircraft and you >just >happen to have a free seat next to you - and you think, "my >goodness, I can >lie down and sleep after one of those heavy assignments". >And then as you begin to relax, you see one of those huge West >African >traders, she could be from Ghana, Nigeria or Senegal or Togo, you >name it. > >Then you hear the footsteps coming down the plane boom, boom, boom >and then >you hear move over! Their 25 kg luggage is hurled onto your lap, >their boom >box is pressed against your shoulder. > >You all but carry their clothes on your head, whilst of course this >very, >very determined woman, who is going to sit right there, tries to >shove her >stuff into the overhead compartment - but there is no room left. > >So you end up carrying her stuff on your lap - and that's how your >two-hour >trip is going to end. > >Mark Gleeson (BBC African Sport) > >The most hazardous part of air travel in Africa remains the charter >flights >- and that's where most of the accidents have occurred in the last >couple of >years. > >I have been on some hair-raising chartered flights myself. > >Not so long ago, in Zimbabwe, we landed in Bulawayo for refuelling >and as >the plane was taking off we saw a little red light flashing in the >cockpit. >An alarm went off throughout the plane and there was fuel oozing out >of the >wings. > >The pilot took off, calmly landed the plane again, and went to the >back >door. > > >He closed it a little more solidly and simply took off again. >Commercially, the strangest flight I have ever been on was on >Nigerian >Airways back in 1992, going off to cover a football match in Lagos. > >The woman who sat next to me had a chicken coop full of young >chicks... she >was obviously taking them from a market in Abidjan to Nigeria. > >During the flight there was a fair amount of turbulence and the bulk >head >collapsed off the roof. > >But overall I found airlines in Africa to be fairly good standard, >although >air hostesses and air stewards are not as thorough as their >counterparts in >America and Europe about safety. > >Asumana Pelima (Emailer, a Liberian in the US) > >In February of 2002, I travelled to Liberia for my mother's funeral. > > >My luggage has never been lost by an African Airline, nor can I >recall any >serious delays and certainly no cancellations. >Andrew Cover (Emailer from UK) > >I got to Monrovia three days late. I had to sleep over in Ghana, >which was >not part of the original schedule. >The ride was stressful because of the age and condition of the >carrier from >Baltimore to Ghana and back - I noticed duck tape used in place of a >screw >to hold two internal pieces together. > >Worse, the flight from Liberia to Ghana was very rough for almost an >hour, >and many passengers cried out in fear that the plane was about to >crash. > >E.Campbell (Emailer from Jamaica) > >I recently visited West Africa and took a flight from Sierra Leone >to Accra >- and experienced the most disgusting, frustrating period of my >entire >existence in this world. > > >Never in my life have I ever seen an airline staffed by such >incompetent, >rude and unprofessional staff, whose daily function seems to be to >harass >and frustrate as many passengers as possible. >A flight of one-and-a-half hours took me three days to complete, >none of the >staff at the check-in counter knew when the flight was leaving, the >manager >angrily replied when queried about the departure of the flight that >he "was >not the pilot, therefore he couldn't tell when the flight is >leaving". > >As a black person visiting Africa for the first time I never >believed that I >would reach the stage of my life where I would choose a European >institution >over an African, but in the case of its airlines I think Africa has >a long >way to go if they want to compete in the real world. > >Nigel Harper (Emailer from UK) > >Before the fortunes of Sudan Air nosedived and crashed and burned >beneath >the Sahara sun about 10 years ago, it used to be known as the Camel >Express. > >One particularly memorable flight I was on to Johannesburg involved >one of >the toilets overflowing and running down the aisle. > >The plane had to stop in Khartoum to fix the problem, and while on >the >ground the air conditioning had to be turned off. > >However, because no-one had visas, we were forced to sit in the >baking oven >that the plane was rapidly becoming on the tarmac for four hours >under the >sweltering mid-day sun. > >The stench of human effluvia was overwhelming and at least half a >dozen >passengers subsequently made use of the sick bags which only added >to huge >unpleasantness of the situation. > >After a couple of hours a scuffle broke out between a passenger in >first >class and one of the crew, which grew to involve about 10 people, >and for >the remaining two hours the plane was patrolled by armed police >until we >took off. > >Happily two days later Sudan Air died and I know of no-one who >mourned its >passing. > > > > >Story from BBC NEWS: >http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3001322.stm > >Published: 2003/06/18 15:04:21 GMT > >© BBC MMIII > >_________________________________________________________________ >Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* >http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: >http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the >Gambia-L Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~