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

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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

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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

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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