A TRUE TRAVEL STORY FROM HELL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 000121 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN EMBASSY TASHKENT FOR JOHN BALLARD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL TI SUBJECT: A TRUE TRAVEL STORY FROM HELL DUSHANBE 00000121 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. SUMMARY: With 67 returning Kazakh hajjis and nearly one hundred tired and hungry expats on board, Turkish Airlines flight 1344 bound for Dushanbe, Tajikistan, could not land for nearly two days due to fog, rain and snow, uncooperative Central Asian governments, indecisive Turkish Airlines representatives and aggressive passengers. On January 11, after the plane failed its first attempt to land at Dushanbe airport at six in the morning due to poor visibility, the flight diverted to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Unlucky Dushanbe PolOff describes a travel disaster that could only occur in Central Asia. END SUMMARY. ¶2. A commercial plane flew between Dushanbe and Tashkent for the first time since 1994 - the last regularly scheduled flight between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Turkish Airlines flight 1344 bound for Dushanbe attempted to land three times at Dushanbe airport, but failed due to heavy fog. Many other incoming flights to Dushanbe were directed to smaller local airports where Tajik and Russian pilots were brave enough to attempt landing in heavy fog on poor runways. The Turkish Airlines pilot chose to rely on his multi-million dollar equipment to tell him that he could not see well enough to land that day and diverted instead to Tashkent -- not once but three times. By the time the plane returned to Tashkent airport after the last attempt, it was eight in the evening and Uzbek authorities refused to allow passengers to disembark to the transit lounge. Passengers had endured the plane for nearly twenty hours with only a brief break in the Tashkent transit lounge earlier in the day. Most had been en route for more than twenty hours, including one passenger who began traveling from San Francisco two days earlier. ANGRY KAZAKHS OR HAJJI HIJACKERS? ¶3. After failing for the third time to land in Dushanbe and returning to Tashkent for refueling, a group of Kazakhs returning from hajj demanded that the flight be redirected to Almaty, having already missed their connecting flight in Dushanbe (COMMENT: Who connects through Dushanbe? Fire my travel agent! END COMMENT). Turkish Airlines representatives, eager to accommodate passengers, entered into a negotiation with the Kazakhs. The Hajjis persuaded Turkish Air reps that flying to Almaty would allow passengers to easily obtain visas, spend the night in a hotel, and catch connecting flights to Dushanbe. After succeeding to get Uzbek authorities to allow the plane to change its flight plan and fly over Uzbek airspace into Kazakhstan, the plan failed when Kazakhstan refused entry for the plane. ¶4. Unlike earlier in the day, Uzbek airport authorities refused to allow passengers off the plane onto the slightly more comfortable concrete floor of the Soviet-era transit lounge. Even passengers holding valid Uzbek visas were not allowed to exit the transit lounge. Past midnight, flight attendants announced that whatever food was left would be rationed, women and children first. Passengers raised their eyebrows, then raised their blood sugar level by breaking out and sharing stashes of chocolate, beef jerky, and bottles of wine. ¶5. When the pilot announced on the intercom that the plane, having no other alternative and with the Uzbeks pressuring it to leave the airport, would return to Istanbul, the angry Kazakhs rushed towards the cockpit. A blue-eyed woman covered in an abaya led the charge and demanded to return to Almaty. Passengers allegedly heard some verbal threats including forcing the pilot to change course towards Almaty in mid-air. Turkish Airlines employees had clearly lost control of the situation and many passengers genuinely feared a dangerous situation brewing. Earlier in the flight, several hajjis proselytized fellow passengers and chastised them for drinking wine, causing many to be unnerved. Several passengers later called the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, insisting the Kazakhs be arrested for "hijacking" the plane. The argument with the Kazakhs continued, despite the fact that their own government refused the plane landing rights. They even woke the Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister to discuss the problem, but the attempts were futile. ¶6. At three o'clock in the morning, passengers were allowed into the transit lounge where they slept on the floor and in chairs, with the promise that more news would be forthcoming at five o'clock, almost 24 hours after they should have landed in Dushanbe. Five o'clock became eight o'clock. Without clear DUSHANBE 00000121 002.2 OF 003 information from Turkish Airlines, the rumor mill churned at full blast and travelers became desperate. A group of about ten American citizens, including Dushanbe PolOff, gathered to discuss a united strategy. Knowing full well the Uzbek government was unlikely to grant visas to Americans, the group decided to advocate for a last attempt to land in Dushanbe or return to Istanbul, with or without the Kazakhs. After PolOff's negotiations with the Turkish Airlines representative, Turkish Airlines decided to proceed to Dushanbe in one last landing attempt. If that attempt should fail, the plane would then head back to Istanbul where passengers would receive food, lodging and a flight back to Dushanbe. ¶7. Not so fast. The Kazakh problem remained. The Kazakh embassy was able to provide the Kazakhs land transportation back to Almaty and other cities, however, the Kazakh passengers would not depart without their baggage from the plane. Uzbek airport authorities did not have permission to remove baggage not marked with Tashkent as its final destination. Local embassies pressured the authorities into making an exception and allow the baggage off so the other passengers could continue. ¶8. Embassies in Tashkent made valiant efforts to the assist their citizens, including the U.S. Embassy which provided constant support and information. However, due to the Uzbek government's hostile attitude and inflexibility, some embassy representatives, including from the American Embassy, were not even permitted in the transit lounge. YOU WILL FLY US SOMEWHERE! ¶9. At one o'clock in the afternoon, after successfully negotiating with airport authorities to unload the Kazakh baggage, Turkish Airlines announced it would begin to board passengers for a two o'clock departure. Passengers hurried as the plane only had a one hour time frame at three o'clock with adequate landing visibility. At this point, a British travel writer leading a group of European Union citizens restrained the Turkish Air representative and prevented him from preparing for departure. They demanded he sign a yellow piece of notebook paper with nothing but the names and passport numbers of all the EU passengers on it. They wanted assurance that Turkish Air would provide meals, lodging and a return flight for all passengers, but the paper had no words to that effect. ¶10. Knowing the document would have no legal bearing, PolOff and other Americans urged the Europeans to back down, follow the plan and allow Turkish Airlines to do its job. Many Europeans had bought into a rumor that Turkish Airlines was conspiring to secretly fly the passengers straight back to Istanbul, where SIPDIS they would strand the passengers and abandon all responsibility. The Europeans wanted to land later in the evening when they thought the weather might have cleared. If it hadn't, they hoped to return to Uzbekistan, where they assumed they would be able to receive visas on a Friday evening. (COMMENT: Fat chance! They would have probably ended another night in the transit terminal. For many Americans with no hope at a visa and families with children who did not want to suffer another night in the transit lounge, this was not a viable option. END COMMENT.) The issue soon took on an EU versus America undertone, and after several minutes of heated debate in a scrum and two o'clock in the afternoon drawing near, PolOff freed the sweat-drenched Turkish Airlines representative to get the flight moving. ¶11. During the flight back to Dushanbe, the entire plane, sans the Kazakhs, was silent and tense. After circling Dushanbe for a few minutes, the plane descended and successfully landed in Dushanbe with passengers cheering with gratitude and immense relief. The plane made the one-hour time frame with eight minutes to spare, almost 16 hours after it was originally scheduled to land. Shortly after wheels down, heavy snowfall hit Dushanbe. ¶12. COMMENT: The majority of foreigners traveling in and out of Tajikistan often opt for the twice a week Turkish Airlines flight, a comfortable plane that doesn't serve hardboiled eggs and neon green sodas. However, even Turkish Airlines cannot thrive in a region whose governments impose political and bureaucratic barriers and are inflexible to accommodating emergency situations. The Turkish Airlines representative in Uzbekistan confided to PolOff that he found working in Central DUSHANBE 00000121 003.2 OF 003 Asia to be extremely difficult and was looking forward to leaving. Clearly this is not the first time he has had to deal with difficult airport authorities. Scaring away western and private companies, particularly those that provide transport links, only impedes economic development in the region. END COMMENT. JACOBSON