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Lagos

  • Thread starter Thread starter swabby
  • Start date Start date
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Got a security briefing on the place for fun from a guy I went to school with.

His reco, drop and repo to Cape Verde, then go back in and pick up. Lagos is geiniune injun territory with all description of bad actors and very little in the way of organized govt.

Perhaps there are others with experience in the place, but when the guys that go after bad actors call it bad, I pay attention.
 
Recommend staying in the aircraft with access doors locked and air conditioner on "high".

Stayed at the Hilton and I was scared to close my eyes in the room. The other guy went outside after dark, once. But he had brass peanuts (I heard them clang) as he came back in, did not go out again until we went back to the airport to leave.

Seriously, a very dangerous place on the ground and in the air. Bring cash to "fix" problems or get much of anything done. Bring your own bottled water and use it for everything i.e. brushing teeth and so on.

Make sure all your paperwork is in order. Depends on who is asking to see it
"what in order" means. Arrived one night paperwork "not in order", we spent three hours face down on the tarmac looking at the business end of many Russian automatic weapons. The Commandante's man finally arrived we exchanged some U.S.D green paper and the paperwork "was in order".

If you need to make a fuel stop prior to entering Nigeria make sure the country you stop in is friendly with Nigeria. This had caused a problem for us previously.

Basically, spend as little time there as possible and unfortunately "do not trust" anyone there.

Have safe trip!
 
Any idea how to airline from Cape Verde back to the States non-stop? Having a hard time finding anything online.
 
swabby said:
Will be spending 2 days in Lagos. Could use any and all info on Hotels, food etc

Thanks

Swabby


Cancel the trip if you can, or go someplace safer like Bahgdad!

Seriously, do not leave your shiny corp jet on the ground in Lagos. Drop and egress ASAP!
 
Lagos: many european crews stay at the Sheraton, so do we when we have to stay there. Bring cash. DO NOT USE CREDIT CARDS! Anywhere! Nigeria has the highest rate of credit card fraud. Do not leave the hotel for anything! The Sheraton has a very popular pool and tennis courts, there is not much else to do during the day. Food is outrageously expensive, but supposedly the owner has everything shipped in from outside the country. Three meals a day will set you back over a 100 bucks for basic stuff. A little fancier dinner add another 50.
Aids is all over.
For ground transportation call the hotel and see what they recommend. It does not mean you'll be secure, but maybe a bit safer than a taxi. I've heard horror stories about other cities in Nigeria where cops, cab drivers and hotel employees all participate in the same robbery gang.

Best advice: have your boss or customer buy a ticket on BA, Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, Alitalia or Virgin. Definately the safest and probably the cheapest option. You take a private jet in there and you're automatically a rich man who can provide for at least a big part of the population of Lagos.....
 
Lagos is indeed bad news...
We would wait 8 hours to get fuel as we did not bribe the right people.

The place is full of malaria mosquitoes: Lots of bug spray needed.
My Flight Mech died from Malaria last year after numerous trips to Lagos and other African sh!t places.

Stay away if possible, if not stay in the Sheraton, we were told it was the only "safe" hotel in town.:(
 
Agreed with the others. I spent 4 yrs in Cameroon, just south of Nigeria, and it was a paradise compared to Lagos and Nigeria overall. Avoid at all costs... definately don't over night.
 
Spent 6 months there. Not a particularly good place but there are worse. The Sheraton is the place in Lagos and cannot think of a second place. Do not carry much cash outside of the airport. Small cash will get you far if properly used. Keep cash at hotel in Lagos.
My maintenance tech loved the place because he lived like a king on his pay. Many of the people are wonderful--- just remember that lieing is considered the norm.
If you want a real experience, fly on a local airline.
Usually you can get out of there on BA if you are paying with US dollars or British pounds even if the flights are blocked.
Just remember, whatever you are told, they are lieing. They speak English but do not understand it at all.
 
TXGold-
South African Airways did a nonstop from Cape Verde to ATL...otherwise you'll have to fly TAP to Lisbon, and get to the staes from there. This was last year...so you can check if they still have it
 
Sounds like a wonderful place! Remind me to never go there!
 
Nope - not me... I bought this one from the special edition Airplane!
I can't believe you didn't win it after bidding $75! How much did it go for? I will gladly sell you mine for 75 bucks! :-)
 
I am not sure what the weirdo's max bid was.

I was going to buy it for a friend as a joke and I was starting to get pissed. I threw $75 bucks out with 15 seconds to spare to see if I could get it.

Thank goodness I did not. I really did not want it that badly.
 
I wonder what the expats at Virgin Nigeria have to say about getting by in Lagos?
 
Need2fly,
thanks for the info. i found out the Lagos ATL on SAA is no longer in service. We ended up using TAP out of Lisbon. Hope I can avoid Nigeria all together because of my "lack of experience."
TXGold
 
The South African airways flight was only a tech stop for fuel out of Jburgh going to ATL. SA would stop in Cape Verde for fuel, no one was allowed off the airplane and others weren't allowed to board. But, security was always sure to bring the dogs onboard to search the aircraft while fueling. You have to go Lisbon, then on to the states. Spent time in Cape Verde for a crew swap, wasn't rested when the jet got there, not as bad as what I am reading about Lagos, but definitely not comfortable. Look into the history of Cape Verde and what its financial support historically has been. I have a friend who has been every where in his career flying Gulfstreams. Asked him where the worse place he has ever been for work, with out flenching Lagos came out and claimed it was "hell on earth" and refuses to go there ever again. Check to make sure your insurance coverage will cover Lagos, worldwide does not mean everywhere, ie there are about 10 specific places it does not cover and I believe Lagos is one of those.
 
Check with SAA, when I flew on them from ATL to JNB I remember some people getting off in Cape Verde, but I'm not sure if anyone got on the jet there.

I'd avoid Lagos if I could... A repo to Dakar or Cape Verde is probably a good idea. I guess the CO guys can look forward to this layover pretty soon!
 
....

I fly with a bunch of South Africans who have done lots of contract work in Africa, and said out of all the places, Lagos was one of the worst and theyd never go back, too corrupt, etc.

BTW, i think DAL is starting ATL-JNB sometime soon, with an overnight stop in Dakar. And if im not mistaken, I think ATL-DXB is coming sometime next year. Anyone have any specifics on those trips?
 
Lagos sucks. I'm sitting here at home sick right now from two weeks worth of flying in and out of there. Breathed in enough smoke from the trash fires down thereI could have smoked three packs of unfiltered dog ******************** and it would have been better for me.
The Sheraton is the best place to stay. It is about 20 minutes. The food and ber is good, but expensive. The water is okay to shower and wash, but don't brush your teeth or drink it. The Eko Beach resort is nice too but is a harrowing, treacherous 2 hour drive through some of the worst sections of the city you will find.
Everything there is crooked. We are handled by DHL there so we don't see alot of the problems a private operator would encounter.
Tell your boss to fly First Class on any of the European carriers that go there instead of risking his own jet.

Lagos is where airplanes go to die.
 
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