I continue to be shocked at how difficult and expensive it is to travel around Africa. Upon reflection it’s not that surprising – clearly only a tiny sliver of the population even dreams of flying, which doesn’t amount to enough demand to bring prices down to what we are used to seeing elsewhere around the world.
Still, my jaw drops every time I inquire about a flight. It’s actually more expensive to travel around Africa than it is to travel to Africa. We originally though to go to Tanzania after our internship, then opted to stay local after seeing the $2000+ price tag to get from West Africa to Dar es Salaam and back.
Yesterday I found out that the inaugural Delta flight into Monrovia – the bargain $650 one-way 2-hour flight I scored- has been canceled. TSA in the US hasn’t yet given security clearance. I looked into booking what was option B, a one-way ticket on Virgin Nigeria via Lagos for $1000. The price had risen to $3500. Delta offered to get me to Monrovia – via Amsterdam. There are several local carriers I’m looking into. I’ve been told their planes are sketchy, to say the least. You can’t book tickets online, and so far I haven’t been able to get an answer when I call. I’ve been at it for two days now, still to no avail. If this were in the US, or even India, it would have been resolved in under an hour. I’ve got a feeling this is my first taste of doing business in Africa.
If you look like your passport photo, you're too ill to travel.Flights to Lagos
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