QUICK RECAP:
Libreville Airport. Bellview Airlines. LBV-LOS. Martin. Flight delayed. Cameroon Airlines. LBV-DLA. Refuelling stop. €400 deal. Passport stamped. Pilot befriended. Martin returns. €10,000 CASH. You can’t board, A Bomb? Show US! Loud Gasp. Flight boarded again. Take off!
CHAPTER EIGHT:
“Airplanes may kill you, but they ain’t likely to hurt you!”
– Satchel Paige
Libreville to Douala was a 70 minute flight. I must admit, for the first ten minutes or so, I was pretty nervous. I looked around from time to time at my fellow passengers, and every time I caught someone or the other staring straight at me. Different kind of negative thoughts came in my mind, most of them absolutely unfounded, ridiculous and some even racist, when I reflected back at a later point. My concern made me prepare for a situation, where someone or some-more-than-one, tries to jump me for the cash. I came to the conclusion that if it was one person, I will put up a fight, but if I was to be outnumbered, I would rather save my own posterior. I would still be answerable for the cash, to AS the Finance Manager, but if I had a life, I would also have a chance to pay back €10k.
While I was invaded by the thoughts of these apocalyptic scenarios, a voice inside me spoke out;
‘If this was a flight with a score of passengers who were of Caucasian descent, would you still be worrying about the same scenarios?’
I pondered over that question and had no doubts that the answer would have been an emphatic ‘No!’
I murmured ‘You racist pig!’ at myself, and relaxed my arm around the black bag next to me. A quick glance at my watch showed that Douala would be another 20 mins away. I decided to focus on what would be my actions once I landed in Douala.
‘Stay away from Immigration – you don’t have a visa!’
‘Call BS to find status on his local asset’
‘Find a place to hide, within the area between Arrival and Immigration, and lay low till the ‘asset’ situation is sorted out’
As I was making mental bullet points for all this, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see the smiling air hostess, who greeted me immediately and asked me if I was comfortable. I replied in the affirmative. Then she lowered her voice and informed me that the Pilot wanted to have a word with me, and she was instructed to request my presence in the cockpit.
I glanced at the bag next to me and asked her;
“What is this about?”
“Nothing Sir, just some formality”, she smiled.
“Well, I can’t leave my bag here and I don’t wish to carry it to the cockpit, so is this formality very urgent and necessary?”, I asked with a hint of irritation.
She glanced around her and found, unsurprisingly, that every pair of eyes in the cabin were glaring at the two of us. In an admirable manner, she composed herself and answered;
“No problem Sir. It’s not that urgent. Could you please wait for the Captain before you disembark?”
As I nodded yes, she made a quick bow and left swiftly, leaving me with a fresh set of speculations. I made a quick mental recap of the whole situation.
So, I had a flight ticket for LBV-LOS by Bellview Airline, which cost me a little over €1,100. I didn’t board it, and was likely to get some refund, despite it being a ‘no-show’. I had paid another €400 which gave me access to a different flight, LBV-DLA, by a different airline. Most of this amount landed in the pockets of the two good samaritans, Frank and Landry. The Captain himself got a part of it as well.
My instinct told me that there were two possibilities:
1. The Captain would ask for some money, in addition to what he has already received, for this great service he has provided. I told myself, it wouldn’t be entirely unjustified.
2. The Captain was just a nice guy who wants to exchange some pleasantries before I left. It might also be a precautionary measure for him to safeguard himself, from the consequences of flying in an illegal passenger. It might not necessarily be about money. I found it pretty hard to convince myself on this possibility though.
Understandably, the last part of my flight had this little cloud of anxiety hanging around it. In time, the aircraft made a loud and trembling landing, before taxiing into the hangar allocated to it. The passengers started making a rush for their baggages, while I sat calmly on my seat. I realised that even without the Pilot’s request to stay back, I would have been the last passenger to disembark.
I did notice the Air hostess glance at me from time to time, to make sure I wasn’t sneaking out with the other passengers. Once all the passengers had left, I saw the Pilot walk towards me with a wide smile, as he started with all the necessary courtesy;
“Sir, how was your flight with us?”
“It was great, thank you!” I politely answered.
“There is something that needs your attention. Hope you would understand and cooperate.” – I had to give him points for staying so composed.
“I see, what is it about?” – I pretended not to have a clue.
“You see, we have flown you in, but you haven’t paid us.”
“I thought that was taken care of, at the Libreville airport. But anyway, how much do you want?” – I tried to sound like someone who was practical, and ready to find a solution.
“Oh Sir!” he almost looked shy for an instant; “You misunderstand me. This is not for me. You have to pay for the ticket for this flight by Cameroon Airlines”
Now that was something I didn’t pre-empt. Besides, the price of an airline ticket would be higher than what an individual might ask for, in return for his favour.
“To the airline? How much is the cost of a ticket?” – I tried not to look alarmed.
“It will be €1,248 Sir, the ticket price for Dakar to Douala.”
“Wait! But I flew LBV to DLA, that must be cheaper, no?” – I sounded desperate this time.
“Usually it is, but this flight can only sell tickets for the sector it flies” – The guy had done his homework well.
I swallowed hard, but tried to not lose my composure. There was no point in trying the old trick of ‘I don’t have so much money’, not with a bag full of cash lying next to me.
So I decided to go on the offensive!
I pointed out to him that if I would be very happy to pay for the full ticket, but just like the usual case of a valid ticket purchase, he had to provide me with a receipt of payment, a boarding pass, and since the boarding pass cannot be issued without a visa, an entry visa to Cameroon!
I knew that most of these conditions were impossible for him to meet, and if, by some miracle, he was able to do so, it would be worth paying for. By this time, the assistant pilot and the hostess had also joined the conversation, displaying the proper spirit of team work.
They looked at each other for a while, before the Captain asked me with an almost trembling voice;
“Do you mean, you don’t have a visa to enter Cameroon?”
I shrugged with confidence, and I saw the Assistant pilot turn around with frustration, as I heard him swear “Merde!” to himself, which literally stands for ‘S**t!’
At that point, I was convinced that I had the upper hand in this negotiation.
To make a long story short, we settled for a €500 and to my great surprise, the Captain handed me a Cameroon Airlines’ boarding pass, with the Flight No., Seat No. and even my name, all handwritten. I looked unconvincingly at the hand written boarding pass, a first time in my life, but he assured me that it was pretty common in Africa, especially for last minute seats.
He also inquired me about the arrangement for my onward journey, and I found no reason not to be honest with him. After listening to it all, he suggested that I should follow him out of the aircraft, and he will guide me to a safe place, beyond the reach of the Immigration guys.
Finally, the three of us left the airplane together, a good twenty minutes after the last passenger had departed the cabin. The crew pulled their own trolley bags, while I had a trolley with a laptop bag on top on the one hand, and a black trash-cum-cash-bag on the other.
After walking for about 25 meters through the main corridor, he asked me to wait, as he made a phone call. Minutes later a young guy came and greeted him. They spoke a few words in their local dialect, with the young guy vigorously nodding his head. Finally the Captain looked at me and said his parting words;
“Good Luck Sir! He will take you to a room for now. Please call your contact from there, and arrange for the next steps. If you need me, Wilfried has my number. But I hope you won’t need it. And please Sir, if someone interrogates you, please say you boarded the flight from Dakar and not Libreville. Au revoir, mon ami!”
We parted ways and I followed Wilfried, the young guy, to a small staff-room around the corner, in the other direction. After settling down on a bench and placing my baggage on a wooden table, I dialled the number of BS, who took my call at the very first ring.
