It is Saturday morning - the church service again starts at 5am. I toss and turn in bed while Michael gets up. The beat of the music is incessant - bump bump baaaaa. And repeat on forever. Everything in Ghana is loud and discordant. The preaching is especially loud and angry sounding. The singing is loud and enthusiastic - but off key. They are in church to pray - the music and preaching gets them going and in the mood to pray.
I finally get up and get ready for breakfast and last packing. We are leaving here at 8am in order to be sure we are at the airport in time for our 9:50 departure. Remember we have to have been checked in 40 minutes before departure time. We were told breakfast would start at 7am. So we get to the restaurant then - all that is there is another family waiting for breakfast. Michael goes to settle our bill. We go back to our room todo more packing. Nas is on her way with a different driver and a car with a bigger boot to accommodate all our luggage. We go back to the restaurant - some food has arrived!
We eat fast and are packed and on our way by 8am. Fifteen minutes later we are at the airport. Nas stays with us while the car and driver are dismissed. Nas will wait until we are on the plane before she takes the VIP bus (nearby) back to Accra.
We get in line to check in. Our luggage is on a luggage cart and parked a ways away from us - you can't take it with you. Someone else will push it to the scales when you finally get to the front of the line. I don't like this plan - but no choice is given. Finally it is our turn. Our luggage is over weight. We are told we have to take the bill and go to another building to pay - and loose our place in line. Michael loses it. He reiterates all the terrible things that African World Airlines has done to us and how much they have cost us. They are unmoved. Michael says - I am not moving - I will not do your job for you - here is some money go and pay the bill yourself. Finally the women gets someone else to take the bill and cash to pay for the extra luggage. She insists we move so she can help the next person. We reluctantly move - but Michael moves to the side of her desk right by the scales and refuses to move. An uneasy truce is called.
I stand by our luggage cart with my two pieces of carry on and wait what seems a very long time. Finally the guy comes back with the paid bill and our luggage tags and paper tickets are finally printed. Everything including us - seem to be going to Accra. So we go to the security line -nope - its too early, we can't go through the line.
There is a cafe. We go outside to get Nas to come with us. I want a diet coke - but very few places in Ghana have it - I can have regular coke. Michael gets a coffee. Nas doesn't want anything. Well - then you can't sit here says the waitress. Nas orders a coke - I know she doesn't like them. But now we can all sit at the cafe. She doesn't drink much of the coke.
An announcement is made that all who are on the 9:50 flight to Accra are to go to another building to wait. It is getting quite close to the time we should be getting through security and boarding - but no one tells us anything. We ask several people - yes we are to go sit in this other building. So we leave Nas once again and go sit to wait. We watch the clock. It's now 20 minutes before our departure time - we have not been called. I am so uneasy - are we really in the right place?
I finally lean forward and ask the gentleman in the row in front of us if he is taking the 9:50 to Accra. He starts talking but I can't make sense of what he is saying. The women in the row in front of him leans back and says - the flight has been delayed by an hour. The clock ticks down the hour delay. We are now ten minutes away from the delayed departure time of 10:50. About ten minutes later we are finally told we should go through security. So we and everyone else, grab our stuff and walk back to the original building and get into another line.
Security here in Ghana has been so weird. Once Michael having his umbrella in the outside pocket of his backpack became a big issue. I made him put it into our checked luggage (still available in that case) and not make a fuss. What was he going to do kill someone with an umbrella? I have come to believe it is all a power play in these small airports. Everything is so inefficient and guaranteed to piss off the passenger. The airport personal can play god and make you do stupid stuff just because they feel like it. We have put up with so much - until today when I think we both had had it. Today the umbrella sailed through security tucked into the outside pocket of Michael's backpack without a word being said.
We do have to take off our shoes at these small airports. I hate it - it is difficult to get the shoes off while standing. The floors are filthy here - I will never get these socks white again. Sometimes they make you open your backpack. Then they just look at you. I recite everything I have in there. I finally say - what are you looking for? Water bottle - I don't have one - I threw it out before I got to security. OK - fine move on.
We finally are allowed to walk to the plane and get onboard. The flight is fine and we arrive safely.
On this trip we had 4 flights with African World Airlines
First flight - Accra to Takoradi - Got to airport at 38 minutes before flight departure instead of 40 minutes because of monsoon deluge of rain. - had to rebook flight and pay passage again. Original flight left four hours late - there was no reason we could not be on it. We were not able to get to Takoradi until 9pm and had a 2 hour car ride to get to the resort from hell. If it had been on time we would have gotten there when it was light and would have gone to a different resort.
Flight two - Takoradi to Accra (transfer to Kumasi) Overweight fees ( Michael's bag ripped and he had to buy another piece bag so the first would not be so full. They made Michael sign a paper saying his luggage was already torn before they would accept it. They booked us and our luggage to Accra. When we pointed out that we were going to Kumasi they made us get out of line and go sit off to the side while they figured out what to do. Apparently no one has ever done this before. They eventually figured it out and everything was booked thought to Kumasi. But when we got to Accra we would have to go back to the check in desk - in another building) and get a "cash receipt". We should not pick up our luggage at the carousal - it will be transferred to our Kumasi flight. We are confused but decide we will figure it out when we get to Accra. Flight left almost on time.
Flight three - Accra to Kumasi - We arrive in Accra and after deboarding walk outside to the other building to the check-in area. Where we find out - OUR FLIGHT TO KUMASI HAS BEEN CANCELED. We - along with everyone else who was to be on that flight have to go back to the purchase air flights desk to rebook out flight. We decide to book a car and driver for tomorrow morning and get a air refund.
Flight four - Kumasi to Accra - We are placing bets on what will happen. I keep trying to tell myself everything will be smooth - of course it was not.
So - 4 out of 4 flights on African World Airlines - not a single flight was not without a problem. Would you fly with them again?
I asked this of dad as well but is there some global consortium AWA is part of? You might share your experience with them, as it seems you are the kind of customers most airlines really want to keep, and see if there is some closure you can get on all these experiences.
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