Worst Destinations

[CargoRat2]

Dark Skies gave me an idea. Where is the worst place you've every had the misfortune to go to in an -F?
I'll start with Abijan. Nothing works without plenty of dash. Disorganised. Regular delays, 4hrs ground time for a partial 74 offload.
I'm sure you guys have some good ones from the DC8 (never flew one myself).

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rgds Rat

[wheelchock]

Cairo for me, flying on behalf of Air Memphis.These guys let you wait 8 hours on the a/c without a gpu, nothing.They always seem to manage to get the aircraft going just before we're running out of duty time.Never had any problem further down south.Exept for Luanda....same crap over there.

[This message has been edited by wheelchock (edited 05 May 2001).]

[CargoRat2]

Sounds like Nile Aviation was the handling agent! We used to fly charters into there just before the Gulf War. Full loads of gasmasks.

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rgds Rat

[wheelchock]

No, actually National Aviation.Just as bad as Memphis.

[Stratocaster]

The worst ? Medina, KSA !
:)

(... and the best fuel stop airport in the world: Santa Maria, Azores)

[CargoRat2]

Just remembered. Barcelona & Malaga. Absolute pits.
Did a charter out of BCN to VCP a few years ago. 26 hours delay. Iberia simply said they had no time to palletize the freight.
Malaga: 8 hours to load. First of all they fixed their highloader with a big hammer, we got started, they went for lunch/siesta. Pallets built like sh*t, wouldn't move. Had to use a block & tackle to tow one of them in.

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rgds Rat

[Engineer]

Try Dodoma Tanzania closely followed by Niamey Two nightmare places :mad:

Nice forum well done

[Dark Skies]

Just for starters....Bamako....Lagos....Dakar(Senegal)....Ouagadougou and Liverpool in December doing mail!

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'Thats not Flying! Thats just falling with style'

[Hwel]

Liverpool is far worse than Dakar. Reeds handling are all far too busy being film stars to deal with dirty ol freighters like us.

[ragspanner]

CDG, horrible!!!!!!.

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A wise man thinks all that he says,a fool says all that he thinks.

[Loc-out]

Port Harcourt has to be close to taking the biscuit.

Come to think of it, anywhere in Nigeria.

Most places I have been to in India for that matter.

[antonovman]

hey cargorat
the worst place we go to is where i think you're based - LUX - we all hate going there
i'd rather go to lagos

[TowerDog]

Bamako is high up on the list.
Also agree on India. Flew a wet lease for Air -India Cargo for a while. Gets old fast.

LUX is okay. Good food and beer in that town.

The very worst..?
Hmm, Try La-Romana, held us hortage for a day
awaiting a $300.00 bribe. Armed guards circling the plane.

After we got out of there I prayed to the Maker that a big hurricane would wipe the place out. Sure enough, a week later the big one hit smack on.
There is a God.

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Men, this is no drill...

[CargoRat2]

Antonov man. Lux does have it's congestion problems. Mind you I've often come back from somewhere or other swearing I'll never complain about LG again!

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rgds Rat

[CargoOne]

Tanger, Casablanca - constant delays.

N'Djamena - actually nobody interested in your aircraft.

Barcelona, Vigo, Vittoria - can not believe that it is european country http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/frown.gif

Sheremetyevo (Moscow) - we want this, that and other... Go (2 km walk each way, not by apron transport) and sign these papers. 16 hrs delay in January, -24C.

Southhampton (UK) - oh **** , we have no forklift with long forks!!! Hmmm, we have confirmed such forklift avail by SITA? 12 hrs delay.

Shannon with Servisair - we have no enough manpower. Wait for half an hour. Ooops. Wait again. And again. And again. 6 hrs delay.

Vagar (Faroe Islands) - final approach... Oh, **** .. The car parking behind my house is much bigger than this runway (4100ft)!!!

[CargoRat2]

What's wrong with Vitoria (LEVT?) - Never had a problem there (offloading fish ex SCL).


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rgds Rat

[CargoOne]

VIT - typical Spanish problem: handling is not interested in your aircraft. They are state-owned, they not agree to work outside working hours (even 1-1,5 hrs after end of their working time). Also they have "siesta" half a day. Actually they not worse than other Spanish airports.

[CargoRat2]

Who handles you C1? IB or DHL. Can only base on my experiences there (maybe 10 times); just offloading we're usually in & out in 75mins or so using IB. I always thought it was the only place in Spain that DID work!
Oh well, as long as I never have to go to BCN again!

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rgds Rat

[CargoOne]

We using IB. Are you operating to VIT on scheduled basis? Then I can believe it is OK. But we operated mostly ad-hoc/charters to VIT.

[CargoRat2]

Ad Hoc. Haven't been there for a while though. We also always send a Loadmaster there to make sure things get sorted. Wouldn't leave them by themselves.

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rgds Rat

[CargoOne]

CR2,
Just out of interest: how you operating adhocs on equipment like 747F? I mean how you managing containers/pallets exchange? You bringing in advance to airport your own ULDs then landing, loading and go, or landing, unloading your emtpy ULDs, go to rest while handling guys filling/palletizing cargo, then loading and go?

[Zoner]

Islamabad for me. Spent 24 hours there once just downloading and refueling. I didn't lose anything in Madras, India either!

[roho]

You guys make even Colombo (Sri Lanka) sound pretty good! I think MIA should get at least one vote, though. I usually get treated better in China (SZX, SHA, PEK) than I do by U.S. Customs and Immigration coming back into my own country from South America... but if that's the worst on our routes, I guess I'll quit whining!!! ;-)

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ROHO
747 FO

[roho]

BTW, has anyone noticed that the venerable Freight Dog Forum founder CargoRat2 has managed to average about one post every day for a year! Keep swingin', Rat!

(Taken from one of his recent posts)
CargoRat2
Posts: 365
Registered: May 2000

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ROHO
747 FO

[CargoRat2]

Sorry late reply, just back from a trip. Ideally position ULDs in advance by truck or air through our own network. If its somewhere really out of the way, we'll bring them on the aircraft, send the drivers on crewrest & all being well leave after rest. Thats the theory anyway! As I mentioned earlier on, last time we tried that in BCN, it took 26 hours.
As for ROHO's interesting statistic, I'd say quite a few of those posts have been in the last days getting this Freight Dogs forum started. Thanks to everyone who has shown so much support.

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rgds Rat

[lostinBRU]

In the UK it's just got to be Coventry ........If you've been there in the middle of a winters night you will know what I mean..............the apron......the cafe........sorry, just come over all peculiar.......brings a new meaning to the phrase " being sent to....."

[RampTramp]

In the 'good old days' (CL44's & Short 8's) I used to think LOS was the a**hole of humanity & then I discovered the pimple - FIH. That was well before the 'revolution' so God knows what it's like now. Anybody been there lately??

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I'm not old, I was just born too early

[Red Snake]

Agreed. Coventry is the worst. Middle of the night standby, pissing rain, filthy portacabin, called out for 5 sectors 10 mins. before stand down.

Mind you, Madrid in the middle of summer, 42C, 5 hours to load, then can't leave 'cos too hot, high, & heavy.

Either way, you end up sopping wet & knackered.

[Eagle18th]

Antonovman - I agree with you about LUX
Roho - I have also had some awful times at MIA including having to stand around outside the aircraft in the rain for 2 hours whilst Customs pulled it apart...and we'd only done a domestic ferry flight.
But for me RUH is the worst - handling agent totally disinterested and rude, usually 2-3 hours in Immigration for no particular reason, and at the end of the day you can't even get a beer.It's cr@p.

[Gary Halliday]

Anywhere I`ve already been to.

GH

[Huck]

We left two flight mechanics overnight at the Lagos cargo ramp (next to the mummified Airbus)while they fixed an engine. They were robbed at gunpoint by the security guards!