I started feeling uneasy this morning the minute I tried to use curbside check-in and they couldn't find my itinerary. The kiosk couldn't find it either. By that time, Karen had driven away from the airport. The guy at the ticketing desk found my itinerary, but I didn't feel any relief because he stared at his computer for so long I knew something had to be wrong. My flight was to Nairobi via Atlanta and Lagos. Turns out I needed a visa for Lagos even though I would just be passing through and not leaving the airport, so I couldn't get on the plane! You can imagine my frustration.
I managed to get an Orbitz customer service rep on the phone and rebook the flight through London, but it cost a fortune and it doesn't leave until this evening, so I'm back home now--Bob came and picked me up. Tonight I'll fly overnight to Gatwick, transfer to Heathrow, wait 11 hours, then fly to Nairobi on an overnight flight that leaves London at 8 tomorrow evening. I'll be getting to Nairobi 12 hours later than my original flight.
Maybe I'm an idiot, but it just never occurred to me that I'd need a visa for a country that I was just passing through. The ticketing agent at the airport had never heard of that either. I found some information on the internet that says that it is indeed true, but it looks like Americans are the only people who have to obtain such a visa in Nigeria. Interesting.
It's part of a longer story that I'll tell you later (when I get home), but my advice is don't use Orbitz. I've used them before and all went well, but when you have a problem, they're the opposite of helpful, and one customer service rep was totally rude.
Have any of you ever heard of this or had a similar experience? Just wondering...
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3 comments:
I feel frustrated on your behalf, even though you are probably over it by the time I read this.
I am an ardent follower of your blog, so I hope you can find time to write. And I hope you find your loved ones happy and well.
Leslie
Hope you had a good first day in Nairobi. Sometime (not necessarily in blog space) I'd like to hear the story of how you spent an 11-hour layover in London (besides in inter-airport transportation).
I spent my 11-hour layover in a way that brought the most comfort to me given my day from hell: I got a hotel room, and took a long nap and a shower. The next time I have that layover, I'm going to do the same thing, only next time I'm getting a massage at the hotel spa.
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