ALGERIA TRANSIT VISA QUESTION

When I checked my itinerary with the visa specialists I use I was advised that I probably could not do the transit in Algeria that I booked without a visa. Furthermore, a visa for Algeria is not trivial to get - requiring an invitation (and I have no business contacts or land travel arranged so would basically be bribing someone to invite me) and no local embassy.

I did consider changing my ticket for a while, however, the itinerary and visa restrictions resemble those for Tunisia which some readers may recall I successfully transitted earlier this year. So I decided to just give it a go.

Now consider earlier in the day. Scene, check in at Cairo. Lufthansa check-in passengers for all Lufthansa operated flights within 24 hours at once (different treatment occurs when some flights are on partner airlines). So when I checked in at Cairo for the flight to Frankfurt, the agent saw my onward itinerary and attempted to check me in for the next couple of flights. But he was unwilling to do so without a visa for Algeria. I do not know whether this was based on personal knowledge of the rules or a computer generated instruction.

I have read that Star Alliance is creating a computerised system to check visa and entry rules and validate them, but I am unsure if that has yet been implemented. This is a good idea, after all how many check in agents in say El Paso would know the rules for arriving in say Sudan, and the intracacies involved where people may have passports for multiple countries, and live in multiple countries (that may or may not coincide with the countries of their passport). However it may have a downside for people like me - travelling on oddball itineraries that no one in authority would have dreamed of, and sometimes pushing boundaries to my own advantage.

I pondered the possibility of not being able to fly. Could I find an affordable hotel at short notice? Would I end up sleeping in the airport (this would be in a concourse as the lounges close during the overnight curfew)? Or would I manage to take the flight after all?

Fast-forward to the transit desk at Frankfurt. There I was simply checked in with no questions asked, and no search for a visa. I was also checked in for my onward flight. I breathed a sigh of relief. While there was still a chance I could be offloaded, either at the gate or even onboard the aircraft before departure, the odds were very low in my view. I should make the flight and, once again, beat the system.