++ MADNESS IN EGYPT ++

This is the 26 June 2005 edition of this page

                          CHAPTER  FOUR

                       EGYPT-AIR (Enough Said!!) 

Whilst the journey from Heathrow to Cairo was accomplished pleasurably in one of their Airbus A-300 s, on 3rd Sept 1996, a subsequent day (Thursday, 6th September) saw us at Cairo airport awaiting and waiting .. and waiting ..to our trips to Luxor and Aswan!!

That was a day of sheer unadulterated HELL in the unsafe, unorganised hands of Egypt-Air.

Whilst I had woken up at 4 a.m., had attempted to re-sleep unsuccessfully, and had a 7 a.m bath and did my packing at the PYRAMISA HOTEL and had accompanied some Welsh and Scottish friends to a reasonably pleasant breakfast, the 'time of our lives' was about to start!!

I'm off to ASWAN today, nominally on Flight MS233 at 1.30pm. The essential preparations had been done by the time I arrived in the foyer at 10.30am.. The bus for the Airport (Cairo) departed at 11.30am., but later, there was the biggest 'cock-up' in all our histories. It was disgusting and involved Egypt-Air, Cairo Airport and their staff!!

Takeoff in the Airbus A-320 was scheduled to be at 1.30pm and eventually, due to 'unservicabity problems, we bussed across the airport to find it waiting there for us. It was quite warm at the start, even, and getting warmer all the time!! The Egyptian midday sun was roasting the outside of the plane, and the rising heat in the interior was because of a non- functioning air-conditionning system. Good job I'd brought lots of safe cool drinking water with me from the Cairo hotel!! The authorities had said that they are working on the problem. The heat, I found, was unbearable even with my liquid refreshment.

After an interminable period of excuses, lies etc in which we all thought that we were going to 'pass-out', a vehicle approached us on the tarmac -a large lorry- and connected itself to us. It was to be a stop-gap measure to get the lorry's airconditionning to cool us.



After a long time, being marginally less hot, but still with the problem UNSOLVED, they decided to bus us back to the terminal. That bus was very hot too!! All we had to do was wait, get refreshments here, and try and find out what was going to happen. Time was getting to the limit when civilised airlines and airports offer refreshments and/or meals - so we queried this with them and eventually were told that our aircraft is now ready - so "no problem". Going to the 'gate' indicated only proved that THAT, too, was a lie!! No plane, - go back to the waiting room!!

Back at the 'waiting area', there was to be NO refreshments, and on demanding to see the manager was told that he's somewhere else (several hundred miles away!!). We were getting quite upset/annoyed by now. No food, no plane, no reasons, and all in a hot sweaty Cairo waiting (and waiting, and waiting!!) lounge. Even a semblance of a non-smoking area was so bad that we were getting very annoyed. Still, - after a longer time, we were told " Your airplane is now ready - please go to the 'gate' ".

We were obviously being replayed around a well-rehearsed loop of excuses and lies, as for the second time it proved to be untrue. In fact, at least two further loops of terminal and gate were played on us. Most of us were, far from young, getting on in age!! Have you ever seen a group of old-aged furious travellers being lied to (from pillar to post) on the threshold of riot??

We certainly were - and the language I heard was definitely mutinous!! (and foul!)

Still, by 6.33pm, unfed, unwatered, - we took off in the general direction uf Luxor. (We hoped.. and worried about the integrity of the aircraft!). Luxor was very hot, but we were far less frustrated by now. Luxor proved to be a quick change, on route to Aswan, after our arrival at 7.35pm . With a temperature of 42 degrees Centigrade we sat-it-out OUTSIDE and took-off at 8.00pm. Touchdown, there, was at 8.30pm, so it was very dark and also 42 degrees!! Some English visitors expected to be cold here, as they thought it was to be 42 Fahrenheit! Not so!! If ONLY!!


View from Aswan's Hotel Balcony -on island in Middle of Nile
Let's return to Egyptian index for reorientation.

.. or read the trip plan from the 1996 story in its Egypt Notes.
.. or continue with Egypt's Chapter Five
Return to Roy's home page for full list of books and other writings either finished or under preparation.