I made the "Johannesburg connections" without a hitch. I went from the plane to what is called the international transfer lounge. There were no lines for the South African Air agents and there were a few agents. I picked up my boarding pass for my flight to Malawi withing minutes of arriving in the transfer lounge. Passport Control and security were no problem at all. All members of our group were at the gate by 9:45 AM, and we made brief introductions.
The Virgin Atlantic agent who checked my bag at Heathrow was correct; I did not have to do anything with my checked baggage at Johannesburg. It went from my Virgin Atlantic flight to my South African Air flight, and was waiting for me when I cleared passport control at the Lilongwe Airport.
Oh, and in case anyone is wondering what having my bag wrapped means. It is what you think it, I paid five pounds at Heathrow to have my checked bag wrapped in layers of plastic. It helps to ward off the problem of luggage being broken into, a problem reported at the Johannesburg airport. And I have a TSA approved lock to lock the bag. You know who forgot to lock it for the Newark-Heathrow flight. But I did put the lock on for the important leg from London to Lilongwe.
I am here at Wendel's Guest House. A very nice lodge and with wireless.
I'll try to write more later on. In the meantime, I may try to nap a little before dinner.
I have blogged about aerial wildland firefighting since 2009. I am not a firefighter and am not a pilot, just an interested bystander who wants to learn more and share what I learn here. Join me here as I blog on the aircraft and the pilots who fight wildland fires from the air in support of crews on the ground. I also blog on concerns affecting fire crews on the ground as well as other aviation and meteorology issues. Learn what it takes to do jobs that are staffed by the best of the best.
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