OXB Airport - trip review
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PEK
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Posts: 8,958
OXB Airport - trip review
In case anyone needs info on the airport:
You can get a pre-arrival visa for Guinea-Bissau.
The airport is super small, but clean and with aircon and functioning electricity.
On arrival, you go through passport control.
If you did the pre-arrival visa, you go into a separate room with your printed letter, and the visa is stamped into your passport with details written in). AFAIK they don't scan the passports, or verify the authenticity of the letter .
There is one luggage belt. The bags get scanned on the way out (customs) or if the machine is down then it's a hand search.
There is an ATM outside. Some taxis are available. They ask for 5000 XOF but you can negotiate it waaay down if you try.
Departures
Other side of the same building. Show your passport when entering, go through the check-in process, then your BP gets scanned along with your passport. Passport control > Security > Boarding area. Two gates in the air-conditioned boarding are along with a cafe. No lounges to speak of.
On arrival or departure you get to take an old German city bus from Frankfurt the 150m from the terminal to the plane (yay! they're a real airport with a bus! )
The process took maybe 20 mins. The queue to check in can be long (there's a priority line), but they process everyone in time for boarding.
The country is pretty cool with a lot of potential but with a great political vacuum.
Very safe to visit (minus the political instability). All the expats I talked to walk around Bissau day and night without thinking twice. If there's a next time I'll try to get out to the islands (1.5 hrs by boat). Cacheu (1.5 hrs north of Bissau) is worth a visit - including the visit to the Slavery museum.
You can get a pre-arrival visa for Guinea-Bissau.
The airport is super small, but clean and with aircon and functioning electricity.
On arrival, you go through passport control.
If you did the pre-arrival visa, you go into a separate room with your printed letter, and the visa is stamped into your passport with details written in). AFAIK they don't scan the passports, or verify the authenticity of the letter .
There is one luggage belt. The bags get scanned on the way out (customs) or if the machine is down then it's a hand search.
There is an ATM outside. Some taxis are available. They ask for 5000 XOF but you can negotiate it waaay down if you try.
Departures
Other side of the same building. Show your passport when entering, go through the check-in process, then your BP gets scanned along with your passport. Passport control > Security > Boarding area. Two gates in the air-conditioned boarding are along with a cafe. No lounges to speak of.
On arrival or departure you get to take an old German city bus from Frankfurt the 150m from the terminal to the plane (yay! they're a real airport with a bus! )
The process took maybe 20 mins. The queue to check in can be long (there's a priority line), but they process everyone in time for boarding.
The country is pretty cool with a lot of potential but with a great political vacuum.
Very safe to visit (minus the political instability). All the expats I talked to walk around Bissau day and night without thinking twice. If there's a next time I'll try to get out to the islands (1.5 hrs by boat). Cacheu (1.5 hrs north of Bissau) is worth a visit - including the visit to the Slavery museum.