Luanda Airport and hell...
TIA.......(This is Africa)
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 694
Likes: 16
From: Behind 1480mm RHA equivalent
Well, points for consistency (consistently idiotic at least) - it hasn't changed over the last four years then....
Your perfectly logical point about presidential idiocy, money, fixing NAV aids etc is irrelevant, because this is Africa.
Your perfectly logical point about presidential idiocy, money, fixing NAV aids etc is irrelevant, because this is Africa.
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
From: south africa
George W Bush closes airports everywhere he goes, but at least he is the Leader of the "free world".
Unlike in Africa where the problem is twofold. 1) African leaders have an inflated opinion of their importance in the world and 2) They don't give a rats @#$% about who they inconveniance, the financial cost, or how their actions impact on flight safety.
These little tin pot dictators seemingly have no concept of how stupid their actions appear to the civilised world.
The concept of 'embarassment' for ones idiotic actions or utterances doesn't seem to feature in African culture. Why is that?
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: onboard
The problem for these dictators is that very few of them are actually elected and thus fear for their lives and so proceed to close off every highway within a 20 mile radius of their convoy and the airport. They must sleep very well at night knowing that the population adores them!!! Oh no wait, they don't give a rats ass, cause the only people they think about are themselves.The worst I ever saw was Sam Nojomo at a small little airfield in Namibia. He must have had a convoy of about 20 black mercs preceded and followed by I don't know how many Gun laden pick ups. I must emphasise that this was a little airfield in the middle of nowhere.
Forget logic on this continent. Just look at SA. There the "people" voted for a corrupt, philandering rapist who takes a shower to cure the AIDS after sex as their next party president!
Forget logic on this continent. Just look at SA. There the "people" voted for a corrupt, philandering rapist who takes a shower to cure the AIDS after sex as their next party president!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
From: Can't remember.
What most people don't know is that these african state presidents all learned their habits of closing the airport 30 min before dep until airborne, from the british rulers during colonial times.
Granted the movements were not quite the same, and holding a piston vs a jet uses way more fuel.
Now if we can only un-learn them something.
Atleast mdeki hasn't picked up on that trick!
Granted the movements were not quite the same, and holding a piston vs a jet uses way more fuel.
Now if we can only un-learn them something.
Atleast mdeki hasn't picked up on that trick!
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
From: Where there is loads of sun
In Harare, 3 a/c put in hold, by app, at the same time at the same alt (below MSA) due to VIP traffic??? 
By the way did I mention ZS reg a/c low on fuel trying to land at the same time??
By the way did I mention ZS reg a/c low on fuel trying to land at the same time??
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 312
Likes: 0
From: UK
Snotneus- That's rubbish about the British colonials. They did not close airports for VIP movements. There were no VIP aircraft and Governors travelled on scheduled flights or the occasional DC 3 type domestic charter with the minimum of formality.
Joined: Jan 2000
Aviation Qualifications: ATP+Mil
Posts: 367
Likes: 20
From: Long Beach
congoman,
I flew out of Heathrow (my home base) a few days ago and ALL traffic on the ground was stopped from moving for nearly an hour until Air Force One and its chimp of a passenger ('Jawge Dubbya Bush') had actually landed and shutdown. Bush, too, is a tin-pot dictator who rigged the elections to get into the !!!!ehou ......., sorry, Whitehouse, like most African despots.
I flew out of Heathrow (my home base) a few days ago and ALL traffic on the ground was stopped from moving for nearly an hour until Air Force One and its chimp of a passenger ('Jawge Dubbya Bush') had actually landed and shutdown. Bush, too, is a tin-pot dictator who rigged the elections to get into the !!!!ehou ......., sorry, Whitehouse, like most African despots.
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 428
Likes: 0
From: OXF
I think airports being shut down is a mark of a dictator :-)
Who cares about the SLF and the freight dogs with deadlines... I AM THE PRESIDENT *said in a bad accent* :-)
Someone else expressed a lot of surprise that certain European countries send their senior officials on scheduled flights in F or C and I know that one of the African royals caused a stink on an AF flight nine years ago because they demanded to fly in F or C and all people with those tickets got bumped.
It's not unusual.
S.
Who cares about the SLF and the freight dogs with deadlines... I AM THE PRESIDENT *said in a bad accent* :-)
Someone else expressed a lot of surprise that certain European countries send their senior officials on scheduled flights in F or C and I know that one of the African royals caused a stink on an AF flight nine years ago because they demanded to fly in F or C and all people with those tickets got bumped.
It's not unusual.
S.
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
From: south africa
deeceethree
Virtually ALL politicians are scumbags INMHO. But at least George dubja has a functional economy. More than what can be said for Mugabe's Zimbabwe and many other countries in Africa isn't it?
And maybe Heathrow delayed a few departures but how many aircraft were refused to land? Much safer having a delay on the ground than in the air! 
When last did you chew your fingernails in the hold over Harare, Gaberones, Luanda, Lusaka, Maputo or Entebe? Over the years I've sat in the hold over all of them, waiting for some banana republic goon while he waves goodbye to his "rent a crowd."
Democracy isn't perfect but at least in the west and in europe there's an electorate that gets rid of bad performers - unlike in Africa where they consistantly vote them back in.
Viva democracy viva! but only God will remove me from power...
Virtually ALL politicians are scumbags INMHO. But at least George dubja has a functional economy. More than what can be said for Mugabe's Zimbabwe and many other countries in Africa isn't it?
And maybe Heathrow delayed a few departures but how many aircraft were refused to land? Much safer having a delay on the ground than in the air! When last did you chew your fingernails in the hold over Harare, Gaberones, Luanda, Lusaka, Maputo or Entebe? Over the years I've sat in the hold over all of them, waiting for some banana republic goon while he waves goodbye to his "rent a crowd."
Democracy isn't perfect but at least in the west and in europe there's an electorate that gets rid of bad performers - unlike in Africa where they consistantly vote them back in.
Viva democracy viva! but only God will remove me from power...
Last edited by congoman; 21st June 2008 at 17:04.
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
From: south africa
Well then, you would know that an African Tin Pot Dictator is in a vastly different league to dictators in other parts of the world. A fact that I doubt the die-hard liberals of the world realised a few years ago. Hope they're happy now...