Ah, yes, I remember that well. In July of 1984 I flew Air Afrique round-trip between New York and Abidjan on a DC-10, with a stop in Dakar. The frequency of this flight was only once per week back then. I spent several weeks in various parts of Cote d'Ivoire, or Ivory Coast.

For the return flight, we sat in the airport for hours waiting due to a problem with the airplane. I forget what that problem was now. Anyway, all of us scheduled to be on that flight were almost certainly doomed to spend another week in Abidjan, when we were finally alerted that we will definitely take off that day.

It turns out the Ivorian Olympic team had to get to the United States for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. If it were not for them, we would not have departed that day - or that week, for that matter.

I just thought I would share this story with everybody as this thread brought back wonderful memories of Africa to me, including being the first American ever to set foot in some of the remote villages in the Ivory Coast.