How did I get to a hotel in Ethiopia?

The pilot said this was the worse combination of errors he had ever seen.

It all began with a shuttle from the hotel at the conference in Entebbe to the airport. We were flying to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with connecting flights to Nigeria. Although the departure was listed as 4 AM, rumor was that the flight to Addis Ababa would leave at 2. So nothing would do but to be at the airport at 11 PM.

The plane boarded at the right time – 3:10 AM – for departure at the right time - 4 AM. Only thing was, another plane of Ethiopian Air needed a mechanic who wouldn’t be available until 5 AM. After boarding, we had to wait for him. That was when we heard the first apology of the pilot for the delay, this one caused by the mechanic.

Then came another. He was very sorry but the plane was too heavy. We could take off but couldn’t land. He should have at least chuckled when he said that, if only to get our imaginations under control.

After a long time he announced their solution. They would off-load all the luggage and leave it on the tarmac in Entebbe. In the meantime they would make the flight to Kigali, Rwanda, a mere 40 minutes away, and then return to pick up the luggage.

The passengers could stay at the airport if we chose. No thank you. I had been there for over 5 hours, and it had lost all interest to me. I stayed in my seat, a window seat, and saw some of the beauty of Rwanda.

Back in Entebbe the pilot announced that four passengers had taken another flight and therefore our weight for landing was all right. It was now 11:00 AM. My connecting flight to Abuja from Addis Ababa had left at 9:40 AM. Hmmm. The gaggle of Nigerian bishops on board was mostly going to Lagos. Their flight left at 9:00 AM. Hmmm.

We arrived at Addis Ababa at 1:30. By then the pilot had to reach into superlatives never before used for his apology – the very worst combination of errors in his career! Please, he pleaded, next time Ethiopian Air would show how reliable they really are. That made me think of snowballs and hell.

No sign of any flight to Abuja. A nice lady with the airline gave me a voucher for a night on them in Ethiopia! Time for a tour of the National Museum of Ethiopia and a brief glimpse into this historic and ancient land and people. Who knows what Ethiopia Air will bring tomorrow. Cairo?