Madness at the airport



Harriet S. Okot



Are people insane or simply sentimental? Why would one pack sugarcane or eggplants for their trip to London or pack excess unnecessary luggage only to reach the airport and make a fool of themselves as they reduce their luggage? People Places was at the airport and noted with glee the craze that happens at check in



Every year during the festive season, we are graced with the presence of our brothers and sisters who are living outside Uganda. Soon however, it is time for them to go back to their respective countries, be London or Juba.



And the crazy happenings at the airport departure lounge as they wave goodbye to their motherland are definitely something to write home about.

The fashion sense of some people leaves much to be desired, a trip to the airport is enough to prove that. Some people find it hard to put together a decent outfit. I never expected to see a woman dressed in a pair of pyjamas. It was obvious that some had forgotten that the part of the world they were returning to was experiencing winter.



Then there was this couple. Anyone could have thought that they were walking down the aisle. They walked as slowly as possible and each step was well co-ordinated. A little girl was placed in front of them to play the role of the flower girl and all the drama was being recorded on a camera – talk about capturing the moment.



All the while, the gentleman made it a point to show off the stylish phone he had come with from abroad. He was holding it to his ear at an angle, which made it virtually impossible for him to hear what the person on the other end of the line was saying.



I have heard of excess luggage, but this time things were rather out of hand. As I was still helping my family get their luggage out of the car, people were staring at a man who was hysterically shouting, “How can you take my sugarcane and eggplants? I’m taking them to London with me! You people are very silly.”



The argument went on for a quite a long time until the gentleman finally realised that there was no point in insisting on taking the sugarcane to London.



But the show stealer was a young lady who managed to get the attention of the crowd with her antics. She entered the departure lounge very sane but soon, there was no ounce of sanity left in her. Her suitcase was over the limit by a crazy amount and when she began to unearth the contents of the suitcase, there were no surprises why.



She had an oversized teddy bear which weighed four kgs alone, a box of short ugly looking matooke that weighed 10kgs, and as she dug deeper in a bid to lighten the load, she began to remove groundnuts, maize flour, beans and Blue Band, yes the margarine spread.



At this point, she was so confused as to what to leave and what to take that her brother who had escorted her and was looking through the window gave her a call to try and give her a hand.



A small crowd gathered and the scene had people in stitches, as the young lady on the other side of the window was throwing things all over the place as she struggled to pack.



I will not mention what exactly she threw everywhere but let’s just say that we got an eyeful. I suggested that she use the teddy bear as a pillow on the flight and take half of each item but even this was too much for her to comprehend. Finally, a good Samarian came to her rescue and packed the suitcase for her, she gave her brother everything that needed to be taken home and ran off to check in.



Entebbe Airport may have got a makeover for Chogm but there are small cracks in the glass where loved ones waiting to check in can speak to people outside. Some of the last minute goodbyes got out of hand when some people began screaming through the cracks.

I have to admit it is emotional when someone you love dearly is leaving you but singing a love song is just too much PDA (public display of affection).



The evening would not have been complete without a good old Ugandan quarrel and as always, security guards were in the mix. After a woman refused to undress her child to go through the metal detector, someone was called stupid and we were given the famous “Do you know that I can sue you? If this was London, you would not be able to talk to like this”.



As I walked back to the car, I recalled the events that had just taken place and burst out laughing. I'm just hoping that there were no journalists around. They may write a story about me. from monitor