How Cool Is That..?

I cannot help but compare travelling in Africa with the rest of the world. When I tell people who has never been to Africa some of my stories, I can see that they sometimes find it hard to believe. When I travel in other parts of the world, then I sometimes understand why they would not want to believe me. Take the carousal for example. When you land in Luanda getting your luggage on the carousal is a story to tell in itself.  

Despite the recent upgrade on the airport, luggage retrieval is not a smooth process. They have a carousal that is somehow still too short to take all the luggage. What always amazes me is the fact that some pieces would go round and round and round and no-one collects them. I can only guess that the owner got stuck at Immigration with visa issues. The luggage handlers on the outside just keep throwing the suitcases on the belt and pretty soon you either have someone on this side throwing the suitcases on the floor, or you have suitcases on top of each other getting tangled up and you have a carousal that needs to be stopped to un-jam the situation. Now look at this cool video. At Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris I noticed when I walked in that all the the suitcases are neatly spaced on the carousal. "Wow, someone taking pride in his work", I thought, but when I saw what was going on I was yet again impressed with technology and the light years Africa is still behind the rest of the world....

It's all about information and experience

The more you travel the easier it gets. Yesterday I arrived at the airport with no ticket or any reference to any booking. I had a bit of a problem when I tried the self check-in desk. My name was not recognized from my passport and only after a while I got it sorted. Was this in my earlier days of travel, I would've had everything with me, checked, re-checked and double-checked again. But you gain experience and you get to a point that going to the airport is like going to the toilet, you know what to do without any concerns really. Another thing that comes in really handy when you travel is information. The more information you can find, the easier it is to travel without the usual concerns and frustrations.

Yesterday when we landed at Schipol Airport, which according to many is the best organized airport in Europe, we headed for the carousal to collect our baggage. All you have to do is follow the signs. The information is in your face, so finding it is not much of a problem. Our luggage was expected on carousal 12, which was also very easy to find. But what I saw on the screen above the belt really amazed me. They were actually telling you when your baggage will be loaded on the belt, they even tell you once all the baggage have been loaded, so if you don't see your bags then you will know that you don't have to wait and do the next obvious step, go to the baggage claim desk. All this information giving to you while you are standing there.

Compare this now with arrivals at Luanda. The size of the airport is a 20th of Schipol. Two flights arrive at the same time and there is complete chaos. You stand and wait at any of the only TWO carousals and you still don't know when or where to expect your baggage. After 2 hours (and this is not a lie), you still stand and wait because you have no idea whether your bags might appear or not. There's no-one to ask, because no-one seems to know what is going on outside where the luggage is loaded on the belt. Or maybe they know that nothing is happening outside and they are too embarrassed to tell you. In this case experience comes in handy again. If you have been through this before you know that you just stand in wait until you fall over, because there is still a chance of your luggage appearing. When you compare airports like these two, then only you realize how far behind some countries in the world are when it comes to service delivery. What a pleasure to travel through Schipol airport, you can actually arrive at your hotel with a smile and minus the headache you pick up when traveling through the airport at Luanda.

Hurry up and wait

In Africa for things to happen it takes time, like checking in at Luanda’s Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport. Check-in opens at 9 am, but the flight only leaves at 3 pm. If you are a frequent traveler through this airport, you try to be there as early as possible, because getting there at around 12 means standing on your feet for at least 4 hours. If you are an early bird like me then things tend to go smoothly…except for the following…

No matter what your Voyager status might be, getting your preferred seat is not guaranteed. Secondly only one person can check in at a time, meaning that a request to sit close to your traveling companion is not an option either. Once you have your luggage checked in it is off to Immigration for that important stamp in your passport. With the new technology like computers this could take some time, especially if the customs official is a lady in her early 60’s typing with one finger and struggling to see through her bifocals.

Then it is the strip search from the fiscal police. When you get taken into their little cubicle one keeps watch at the door, while the second one intimidates you in his self created ATM in an effort to rid you of any local currency and whatever other cash you might have on you. The best way to get through is to know your rights. Don’t get aggressive, but stick to “No, I don’t have any Kwanzas and no, you cannot take my dollars”. They will get the message eventually and move on to their next victim.

Once in the departure hall the waiting begins. You can cough anything up to 7 USD for a dry cheese and ham bread roll with no butter. The seats are made out of the hardest steel available on the planet and designed in such a way to keep you from getting comfortable or taking a nap. Sitting around from 9.30 to 4 (the plane usually departs an hour or two late) can be quite an ordeal, but this time could be used for meditation instead.. There is nothing else to do, nowhere to go and it takes you approximately 3 minutes to go through the only duty free shop they have available. But there is one good thing though…you know that the torture will come to an end and that you are on your way home….

Airport (in)efficiency

I am in Luanda at the moment for what would hopefully be my last business trip for 2009. As I went through the airport I was thinking again about the poor service your receive from the moment you land until you leave this country again. I have written so many stories particularly about this airport but doubt whether I will ever post it. I am scared I might get a knock on my door one evening. Voted as one of the most inefficient airports in Africa by an African traveller magazine, you can imagine for yourself what it must be like. If I tell you that I managed to get through Immigration, Customs and baggage collection in one hour today, then you might not think it is bad. What if I tell you the average time to do that is around 2 hours and that my record so far has been 4 hours? That is getting of the plane, getting a stamp at Immigration and picking up your luggage. BTW, a colleague of mine found the locks on his bags broken open today....

But I didn't want to go on about the inefficiency at Luanda Airport. I believe that if you've travelled through an airport a couple of times you learn the ropes and eventually you don't see the problems anymore. I think the best way to get an impression of an airport's efficiency is when you do it for the first time. Today I travelled through Cape Town's new terminals for the first time since it has been opened a few weeks ago. All I can say is "what a pleasure". Not only is everything clearly marked, but everywhere you find people dressed in bright neon green shirts assisting passengers wherever they can. You cannot beat a friendly smile when you are looking for directions. I think Cape Town International Airport is ready for the thousands of tourist coming to see the Soccer World Cup in 2010. Keep it up!