It took the group a little longer to get Urbana-Champaign than we expected. We landed in Amsterdam on time, after an uneventful flight. I bumped into an old family friend who was very surprised to see me as she didn't know I was travelling anywhere out of South Africa!
We were searched before boarding the plane (North-West Airlines) - had to take my shoes off, and was patted down by hand ... a bit startling but nevertheless, we boarded the plane and the plane trundled down the runway. Then the drama began .... the staff seemed to be having a problem with one of the passengers sitting behind us, and there was much to-ing and fro-ing, with the pursur eventually coming to confront the guy. The pilot then decided that he was turning around and "de-planing" the passenger, which duly happened and we took off about an hour and half later. Everyone on the flight was very well behaved after that! The staff informed the passengers that connecting flights had been changed and we would be handed new boarding passes by airline officials once we had landed. It was going to be tight, as we had had a three-hour break between the time we landed and the flight to Williard Airport, especially as we had already lost about one and half hours.
Then more drama for the South Africans at Detroit airport. As we were going through immigration and customs, the group was pulled to one side ... and only released five hours later.. missing all connecting flights to Urbana-Champaign. There we were - stranded at Detroit Airport. Thank heavens for North West Airlines and their customer service. We spent the night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and nogal, scored a scrumptious breakfast before flying on to Williard where we were met by Barbara.
The experience with immigration and customs left a very sour note to the start of the stay for me -- not that they shouldn't have pulled us to one side and only released us five hours later, but it was the lack of information or communication that really got to me. We did not have our luggage with us at the time we were pulled aside, so we were worried about our luggage, conscious of the time of our flight, were tired after a long flight, and saw several people not allowed entry; saw how rude and intimidatory and arrogant the staff were (yes I suppose that is the impression they want to create), shouting at people like they were stupid ... mangling people's names and then getting upset when the person doesn't respond when he/she doesn't recognise his/her name! Thank Heavens for other Americans -- like the NorthWest airlines staff and the bus drivers here in Urbana-Champaign. A little kindness goes a long way.
No comments:
Post a Comment