I am flying from Lake Manyara airstrip on a scheduled charter and connecting to Qatar airways in business class to Doha and then onward to JFK I am hoping to check in online before the flight but assume we will have to go to a counter to complete check in. Not checking any bags. What is the minimum connection time or how far in advance do we need to be at JRO? Right now we have 2 hours and 20 minutes and I am concerned that is not enough time due to a mistake by the safari operator. Everything is on a separate ticket. Is there a priority customs lane?

Hi,
With Lake Manyara being in TZ, and your transit/connection at Kilimanjaro airport (JRO), you will not need to be concerned with Customs at JRO.

The check-in counters will open approximately 3 hours before your scheduled take off. Therefore, your 2:20 connection time will be adequate. And, the staff at JRO I believe are contract employees, who may have been working a Precision Air, KLM or FastJet flight before yours.

You shouldn't encounter any difficulties, as JRO is one of the easiest African airports to transit. *since you are in business class, there is a lounge above the check-in area. It is called Tanzanite Lounge and should be free to you due to being in business class. Before ticketing, fill in your details on one of the "exiting East Africa" cards, then step into the priority check in line. After ticketing, you will clear Immigration and then can enter the Lounge. You do not need to go through the final security check until about 35-40 till boarding. They will make an announcement in the Lounge.

Re the Lounge - basic food items, beer, wine, soft drinks and a small selection of liquors. Pool table, fairly clean bathrooms and Intl CNN on the big screen with comfortable couches all around. Seldom crowded! Have a great trip!

As long as the power stays on. The last time I departed JRO the power went off/on multiple times while we were trying to get through the security checkpoint.

Thanks everyone! That makes me feel better. We were nearly ready to restructure the last part of the trip. We also lost power at DPS and had to be manually checked in (in economy class). Ugh.