I was fondled by a man the other day. It was the grossest violation of my personal space that I have ever encountered. I had no choice but to stand there as his hands wandered all over my body, touching and caressing, prodding and feeling. Maybe fondled is not the right word; frisked is apposite, but it was still an uncomfortable experience. Couldn't the Kenya Airports Authority, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority or whoever is in charge of the safety of the flying public have sorted out how passengers could be searched without having men fondling other men? I shudder to think how women are frisked-fondled when entering Terminal 1A, International Departures.
Terminal 1A is a beautiful building - more beautiful than the old international departures lounge. It's beauty is marred by the ham-fisted, oppressively familiar, my-way-or-the-highway style of security that Kenya has adopted. The cattle-class check-in (world traveller, if you are in Western Europe, or Economy, if you are Kenya Airways) has at least four security lanes for the convenience of the majority of the passengers, but the characters in charge of the safety of the flying public see nothing wrong in ensuring that there are long queues of passengers all shuffling forward towards the one operating security scanner. Immediately afterwards comes the fondling-frisking.
Terminal 1A is ruined by the ;complacency that seems to engulf many service providers in Kenya these days. Some operators have managed to maintain a high quality of service for a very long time. My stay at the Mount Kenya Safari Club was an eye-opener after suffering at the hands of the folks at the Eden Rock in Mombasa, the worst hotel in the world. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the Kenya Airports Authority are fast becoming the equivalent of the Eden Rock - the worst airport operators and civil aviation managers in the world.
If you're travelling first class or business class, chances are you won't get to experience the travelling horror stories of those in steerage. You are subsidising the travel of those at the back of the plane, so you probably don't care that they are mishandled in such a colossally stupid manner. You may want to stop reading now, then. But for those who are on a budget, the experience in Terminal 1A is an indication of the contempt with which they are held by the airport operator.
But this shouldn't come as a surprise. High-fliers like the Mount Kenya Safari Club are rare - and they charge a premium for the quality of their service. Seemingly fly-by-night operators are a dime a dozen and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport operates like a fly-by-night operator - it's principal job is to squeeze as much money out of the flying public in the shortest time possible and to hell with the travelling experience or the humiliations inflicted on the people it tortures. The only difference between Citi Hoppa and JKIA is that JKIA cost several billion shillings to set up. In all other respects, those in charge of the Citi Hoppa franchise could easily take over the running of the JKIA and no one would tell the difference.
Terminal 1A is a beautiful building - more beautiful than the old international departures lounge. It's beauty is marred by the ham-fisted, oppressively familiar, my-way-or-the-highway style of security that Kenya has adopted. The cattle-class check-in (world traveller, if you are in Western Europe, or Economy, if you are Kenya Airways) has at least four security lanes for the convenience of the majority of the passengers, but the characters in charge of the safety of the flying public see nothing wrong in ensuring that there are long queues of passengers all shuffling forward towards the one operating security scanner. Immediately afterwards comes the fondling-frisking.
Terminal 1A is ruined by the ;complacency that seems to engulf many service providers in Kenya these days. Some operators have managed to maintain a high quality of service for a very long time. My stay at the Mount Kenya Safari Club was an eye-opener after suffering at the hands of the folks at the Eden Rock in Mombasa, the worst hotel in the world. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the Kenya Airports Authority are fast becoming the equivalent of the Eden Rock - the worst airport operators and civil aviation managers in the world.
If you're travelling first class or business class, chances are you won't get to experience the travelling horror stories of those in steerage. You are subsidising the travel of those at the back of the plane, so you probably don't care that they are mishandled in such a colossally stupid manner. You may want to stop reading now, then. But for those who are on a budget, the experience in Terminal 1A is an indication of the contempt with which they are held by the airport operator.
But this shouldn't come as a surprise. High-fliers like the Mount Kenya Safari Club are rare - and they charge a premium for the quality of their service. Seemingly fly-by-night operators are a dime a dozen and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport operates like a fly-by-night operator - it's principal job is to squeeze as much money out of the flying public in the shortest time possible and to hell with the travelling experience or the humiliations inflicted on the people it tortures. The only difference between Citi Hoppa and JKIA is that JKIA cost several billion shillings to set up. In all other respects, those in charge of the Citi Hoppa franchise could easily take over the running of the JKIA and no one would tell the difference.
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