The Schipol Disaster!

Passengers waiting in line!




I have not shed a tear but I tell you I am mad, madder than I was through all the hassle trying to get home with the winter storms and all! Forget the delay! I waited and had the patience to wait. I figured I would eventually get home eventually.

My plane arrived at the Schipol Airport at 12.45 in the afternoon and stood in line all day (literally) and was finally attended to at 8.30pm. I got down from the plane at about 1.30pm so I stood in line for a good seven hours,'Nothing spoil'!
At the end of the ordeal, for an ordeal it was, I got a booking on the next flight which is tomorrow, which im grateful for!

While we were standing in line, the Airport officials kept announcing that we should go to D76 as sleeping arrangements had been made for stranded passengers. The sleeping arrangement as described by a KLM official was a cot, pillow and blankets. I looked forward to finally laying my head to rest, The standard is a hotel but a cot is much better than nothing.

To my utter dissapointment, I get to the gate and I hear a conversation between the customs officials and an elderly couple before me, they do not have a schengen visa and are therefore not allowed beyond this point. I thought there must have been a mistake and I decide to go back to the point where I got a new booking.

After asking for the terminal where we were to go and confirming it was the same one I had just come from, I tell him what transpired and he speaks in a soft voice telling me that I do not have permission to enter Holland and as such am not allowed beyond that point. At this point I snap back at him saying I only need a bed for the night and have no wish to enter Holland on whose soil I am anyway, what makes one point different from the next?

He then advises me to go a few metres to my right where there are couches which are comfortable and I should get one before others do, I cannot laugh, I also cannot cry, I am indignant, first of all the weather is blamed for all the problems we have had tonight not once did I hear an apology from any of the KLM officials. We were given water and ham sandwiches and coupons for food and a rebate on our next flight with the airlines and for a 5min free phone call!

To say the least I am dissapointed, dissapointed that by some mean streak I do not have a schengen visa and that tonight of all nights I am a Nigerian and do not belong to a country with good bilateral relationships with very many countries!

Individuals who need no visas and all those with a schengen visa are the only ones to have the luxury of a cot tonight, I am spending the night on a couch amongst strangers, the KLM official says that Im a 100% safe in their facility as if anything can ever be guaranteed fully. All I know is that Im in God’s hands as always.
*Written while waiting for a connecting flight to Nigeria which took 27hours~

Comments

  1. Anna Renee5:55 AM

    Oh my God, here it comes! The fears of people are proving to be warranted. Oh no.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7:44 AM

    def not funny.. pele! I hear you should have been celebrating something............lol..

    ReplyDelete
  3. SOLOMONSYDELLE8:38 AM

    Oh my goodness. This is not the way to start a new year. E kpele, my dear. E ma binu. This is the plight of green kpali holders sometimes. Please concentrate on getting home to your loved ones and do update us to know you have arrived safely. Again, I'm sorry you have to go through this stress.

    Stay strong and take care.

    ReplyDelete
  4. olaoluwatomi4:04 PM

    @Anna Renee It was before the terrorist attempt- It was on the 21st/22nd of December!
    @AKaBagucci Thanks what celebration?
    @Solomonysdelle Thank God it was not over the new year Im sure tears would have descended:)) Thanks a bunch and happy new year everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:43 AM

    ...someday, 'we' shall be celebrated (everywhere).

    ReplyDelete

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