Zambian Airways

"Zambian Airways - changing the way Africa flies" - I couldn't help feeling that the slogan was somewhat ambiguous. In fact, there was nothing wrong with the way that our little twenty seater flew to Mfuwe. But the process of checking in and transferring was all quite innovative.

Domestic check-in in Livingstone was at the (only) gate, where a number of people helped themselves to luggage, tickets and departure tax, in no particular order, from whichever passengers they could reach. So while some American family was being checked in, my luggage was weighed, labelled, and lobbed out of the exit doors. I soon gave up worrying that I hadn't been checked in and decided just to go with the flow, and went to beg for my departure tax receipt to be returned by the official who'd swiped it from my hand.

We took off rather late due to the departure of the presidential jet bringing all air traffic to a standstill. Security was not so tight as to stop us wandering out of the departure gate onto the edge of the runway to wave him off, climbing a spare set of plane stairs to get a better view of the president and the singing, dancing, drumming that was his send-off.

Our plane touched down in Lusaka, where we had to get off, collect luggage, and check in again. The check-in was about six inches from the arrival shelf, so this was quite easy. No departure tax was payable this time as we were only in transit, so we sat down and relaxed. Mistake. It turned out that we had to go to the departure tax desk and not only show them our previous receipt from Livingstone, but also fill out a lengthy carbon-copied form, in order to be given a receipt for the zero Kwacha we'd paid in departure tax.

Having been at the end of the pointless paperwork queue, Alex and I legged it through the departure cubicle, I mean lounge, across the tarmac and onto the waiting plane. Our sweet hostess greeted us as if she hadn't said goodbye twenty minutes ago, and off we went.

Zambian airways - changing the way logic works