Air Travel

Air Travel Security
Even before September 11, 2001, security for overseas travel has been extensive. For example, at Entebbe Airport, all bags are x-rayed, not just your carry-on. Also, once at Heathrow Airport, our 747 was ready to "push-back" and take off for Entebbe when a passenger had not gotten on the plane but his bags had. The flight was delayed an hour while his bags were found and removed - which was fine with me! This same level (or higher) of security will only increase.

Aerosol Products
It appears that any products (shaving cream, hair spray, bug spray, etc.) in areosol cans will eventually be prohibited on commercial flights. Therefore, I recommend avoiding aerosols in preferance for products in squeeze tubes and hand pumps. This should make your trip through airport security that much easier.

TSA Transportation Security Administration continually adapts to circumstances and threats so rather than post outdated information here, I recommend that you visit their web site for the latest information. You should especially check their Permitted & Prohibited Items section. Also, if your bag is inspected, you will find a TSA Inspection Form in you bag when you open it.

Airline Tickets are increasingly being issued in E - format (E for electronic) which means you arrive at the gate and show your ID, they pull your reservation up and if everything is correct, they issue you a boarding pass for the flight.

Even with E-tickets, you will probably get a paper (or email) receipt which I photocopy and take the original with me and leave a copy in my Home Travel Folder should I need the information sent to me as I travel.

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Flight Progress Tracking
If you provide your family and friends with the name of your airline, flight number, and scheduled depature time, within an hour or so of the departure time, they can go the the Flight View® website and get information on your flight and once in the air, it will show the progress of the flight.

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Jet Lag is simply the disruption of your normal body clock so your desire for food and rest are out of sink with the clock on the wall. Jet travel allows us to go farther and faster than our bodies can adjust on an incremental basis and that produces the body clock disruption.

Some Helpful Suggestions

It is best to fly during daylight hours and rest a night, but flights from the US to Europe and from Europe to Uganda are presently overnight flights.
In the few days before your departure, try to get as much sleep as possible (don't use an alarm clock to wake up, but allow yourself to wake up when you body is ready.
Do your best to get some rest on the overnight flights and to aid this you, may wish to take a fast acting, limited duration sleeping aid such as Ambien© (Zolpidem Tartrate 5 or 10 mg tablets). This is a prescription item but worth talking with you doctor about since it has about a four hour effectiveness range and does not leave you with a hangover.
On the afternoon and evening of you flight, avoid alcohol and caffeine. Drink water or Ginger Ale©, Sprite©, 7Up©, etc. that do not contain caffeine.
Once at your destination, go outside at noon allow you body some exposure to the noonday sun.
Fight the weariness during the day with only short naps.

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Airline and Airport Related Websites

The Airlines and Airports related sites listed below represent the USA gateway airlines, airports and overseas hubs that transition to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Please make me aware of additional airports and other information that needs to be added or updated in this section

Airlines

The following airlines are commonly used by ACTI teams.

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Lost Bags
For the first time in all my travels, several of our bags did not make it to Uganda with us on our 2005 trip. As is always the case, this became a learning experience and here is what I learned. The folks at the airport are very responsive in taking your claim. However, when the bags arrived at Entebbe, things got more complicated. I had my Uganda contacts name and cell phone number on our bag tags (see below) and wrote his name and cell phone number on the claim form I filled out at the airport. But I failed to write on the form in big clear letters that I granted him permission to pick up the bags and them permission to release them to him. When they called, we were 200 miles away in western Uganda. He went to the airport but they would not release the bags to him. Therefore I had to write a letter, sign it, find a fax machine and fax it to them before he could get the bags. Bottom line, it took us three days to get our bags AFTER they arrived in Uganda.

Carry-on Baggage Maximums
Note: Most airlines have more generous allowances for business and first class carry-ons, but those on a missionary trip would not commonly be seated in one of those sections.

Carrier Bags Height Width Length Girth Weight

British Airways 1 22" 16" 8" 46" 13 lbs

Delta Airlines 1 22" 14" 9" 45" ?

Emirates 1 22" 15" 8" 46" 11 lbs

KLM 1 18" 14" 6" 38" 22 lbs

International Checked Baggage Maximums

Carrier Bags Girth Weight Excess
Baggage Air
Cargo

British Airways 2 62" 50 lbs 51-87 lbs 88+ lbs

Delta Airlines 2 62" 50 lbs 51-100 lbs 101 + lbs

KLM 2 . 50 lbs . .

Girth is the total of height + width + length
Bags approaching the 50 pound limit will probably receive a heavy tag which is not a problem, just a warning to baggage handlers that the bag is close to 50 pounds.
Excess baggage is the additional charge for baggage weight over 50 but not exceeding 100 pounds
Air Cargo is baggage in excess of 100 pounds which is charge by the pound but does not count against your two bag limit.
Our teams have used military style dufle bags and I have personally starting using plastic footlocker style trunks with wheels which are easy to pack, provide better protection from items being crushed and keeps things dry when baggage is left in the rain on the airport tarmac.

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Baggage ID Tag
Here are several tricks I have learned about properly identifying your baggage. I get some bright colored card stock and make baggage ID tags for all the bags in our team - including carry-ons. On one side I put the common identification information you would expect. On the other side I print our team travel itinerary and our contact in Uganda. I also print a copy of all this information and place it inside the bag so that if the bag tag gets torn off in the airline baggage system, proper identification can be found on the inside as well. The value of the itinerary and flight routing information is that speeds up the process in getting the back to where our team is. The exterior tags are sealed in 10 mil clear laminate and secured with those clear rubber type tag loops that seem to be unbreakable. One advantage of doing every single bag with the same type tag is it provide an added level of security in that all our team members can easily recognize bags belonging to other team members at the baggage belt or if a thief picked up a back and started to walk off.
Here is an example of the tag I make:
(Data below is ficticous)
John Q. Traveler
1234 Anywhere Street
Chattanooga, TN 37341 USA
423-875-7867

(Travel Itenerary on Back)

Itenerary, Jul-Aug 2003
7/15 DL 4278 CHA - ATL
7/15 BA 2226 ATL - LHR
7/16 BA 2227 LHR - EBB

8/10 BA 2225 EBB - LHR
8/11 BA 2223 LHR - ATL
8/11 DL 4256 ATL - CHA Contact In Uganda
John A. Ugandan
Plot 1014 Namirembe Road
Kampala, Uganda
256-77-789123 Cell
256-41-276543
256-41-276542 Fax

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U.S. Airport

Atlanta, Georgia
Hartsfield International Airport ATL
Chicago, Illinois
O'Hare International Airport ORD
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte Douglas International Airport CLT
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport DFW
New York, New York
John F. Kennedy International Airport JFK

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Overseas Airport

Amsterdam, Holland
Schiphol Airport AMS (you will need to select English language.
Brussels, Belgium
Zaventem Airport BRU
Entebbe, Uganda
Entebbe Airpot EBB. There are some good photographs of Entebbe Airport at Brian McMorrow's photo gallery. Entebbe airport phone numbers: 256-41-320-516 or 320-519 or fax at 320-571. They also list 256-77-412-314 which is part of the Uganda cellular system.
London, England
Gatwick Airport LGW Presently the departure point for Entebbe.
Gatwick Express Complete information on train from Gatwick Airport to central London.
Heathrow Airport LHR Some flights from USA land at Heathrow and transfer to Gatwick by Speedlink for trip to Entebbe.
Heathrow Express Complete information on train from Heathrow Airport to central London.
Speedlink Bus express transportation between London Airports.
London Tourist contains many good links about things in and around London.

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Major U.S. Air Carriers and Their Foreign Code-share Partners

American Airlines
Aero California (Mexico), Air Liberte (France), Air Pacific (Fiji), Asiana (Korea), British Midland, Canadian, China Airlines (Taiwan), China Eastern (China), Finnair, Grupo TACA (Central America), Gulf Air (Persian Gulf), Hawaiian, Iberia (Spain), LOT Polish, Qantas (Australia), Singapore, South African Airways, TAM-Brazil
Continental Airlines
ACES (Colombia), Air Aruba, Air France, Alitalia (Italy), Aserca (Venezuela), Avant (Chile), British Midland, China Airlines (Taiwan), COPA (Panama), CSA Czech, EVA Air (Taiwan), Transavia (Netherlands), VASP (Brazil), Virgin Atlantic (Britain)
Delta Air Lines
Aer Lingus (Ireland), AeroMexico, Air France, Air Jamaica, Austrian, China Southern Airlines, MALEV (Hungary), Swissair, TAP Air (Portugal), TransBrasil
Northwest Airlines
Air China, Japan Air System, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Netherlands), KLM exel, KLM uk, Martinair (Netherlands), Eurowings (Germany), Pacific Island Aviation (Micronesia)
TransWorld Airlines - TWA
Royal Jordanian (Jordan), Royal Air Maroc (Morocco)
US Airways
Deutsche BA (Germany)
United Airlines
Aeromar (Mexico), Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air India, Air New Zealand, ALM Antillean Airlines (Caribbean), All Nippon Airways (Japan), Ansett Australia, British Midland, Cayman Airways (Caribbean), Emirates Airlines, Lufthansa (Germany), Mexicana, SAS (Scandanavia), Saudi Arabian Airlines, Thai International, Varig (Brazil).

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