"Last November she was due to perform in Cape Verde, the archipelago state off the coast of west Africa, travelling from Nairobi via Europe the only available route on a one-year Schengen visa. But at the airport, the airline refused to let her board. The DJ, who was born Emma Mbeke Nzioka, said she was told she had been deemed a flight risk, despite holding a valid visa and a return ticket with another airline."
"The airline's staff insisted that she buy a return flight with them instead. Coco Em recalls a moment when airline employees asked her to prove' she was a DJ. Photograph: Nick Harvey/Shutterstock Where does it say you must fly back on the same airline you left with'? she recalled saying. No answer came only an ultimatum: pay within 15 minutes or stay grounded. Coco Em refused, requested her documents, and went home."
"In theory, Africa's 1.4 billion people are more connected than before through trade blocs and ambitious infrastructure plans, but in reality intra-continental travel remains cumbersome and expensive. One needs a sense of humour to travel in Africa, said the Nigerian writer Helon Habila, who recently had to spend a night in the Ivorian city of Abidjan after one leg of his journey from the Guinea capital, Conakry, to the Nigerian capital, Abuja a three-hour direct flight if such a route existed was unexpectedly delayed."
Planning intra-African travel often requires as much logistical effort as preparing performances. A Kenyan DJ was refused boarding for a Cape Verde gig after flying via Europe on a valid Schengen visa because airline staff deemed her a flight risk and insisted she buy a return ticket with the same carrier. Airline employees asked her to prove she was a DJ, then gave an ultimatum to pay within 15 minutes or stay grounded. Travel hurdles affect artists, entrepreneurs and everyday travellers across the continent. Trade blocs and infrastructure projects have increased theoretical connectivity, but direct routes, delays and high costs make intra-continental travel cumbersome.
#intra-african-travel #airline-boarding-disputes #visa-and-border-restrictions #african-union-passport
Read at www.theguardian.com
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