EZE: Quilombo Total!
 

I arrived at Terminal A this morning to total chaos. It's obvious that the airport is overloaded just by observing all the aircraft that are parked remotely.

It took 60 minutes to clear immigration even though I was off my UA flight before the majority of passengers. Passengers were queued up around the upper concourse even before being able to take the escalators downstairs to the immigration hall.

Security officers were trying direct the passengers queued upstairs (en castellano), into different lines: US citizens, Argentines and transit passengers. Not very successfully I might add.

And of course some of the passengers don't help by not having filled in their immigration forms before approaching the immigration booths :mad:

I get nervous when I know that my luggage has been on the carousel for a long time unattended, especially since there were problems last week with "missing" luggage from the AR passengers that were stranded. Fortunately my LED HDTV was packed in a nondescript suitcase and was still on the carousel when I exited immigration. ;)

One of the taxi dispatchers then tried to con me, quoting a fare (en castellano I might add) of ARS$285 to Palermo just as I was getting into a cab ... I made sure that he and the taxi driver that eventually took me were aware that I knew the scam that was being attempted. I had a few choice words and was exiting the cab before the driver apologized to me and quoted me the correct fare (in writing).

My flight was completely full this morning, with standby passengers not being fully accommodated at IAD.

John

Sounds a bit hectic at EZE. I'm awful glad I won't be passing through it during this period.
What is it with airports and dodgy taxi drivers? Just about every airport has their fair share of these low-lifes even LHR has them. I do like airports which controls taxi drivers and lets you know how much you will be paying before you get in the cab.
EZE taxis are usually pretty good though.

Personally, I love being able to take a train into the city instead, like in Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur. I loathe having to negotiate for a cab after a long flight. This is why since moving to BsAs I've grown accustomed to making arrangements with one of the remise drivers I like to come meet my flight.

Not to get too far off topic:

When I lived in KL, I could walk 5 minutes from my apartment to the subway, take it to KL Sentral station where I could check into my flight and drop off my bags, then relax on the train ride out to the airport and just go straight to the gate. I've never enjoyed the whole process of flying as much as I did when doing so out of KUL and flying on MAS. It was, dare I say... civilised.

Here in Buenos Aires, I've just cancelled all my flights and moved my commitments to January so I can avoid the mad house that is EZE.

^

I'm hoping the "on time" gods cooperate and at least have AEP done by the time I return, in early January. The delay gods actually did me a favo(u)r because I last departed on 31 Oct.

I can beat that - I departed EZE just a few hours before AEP closed!

I was on that same flight.

I surmised the kid in the green uniform who was wrangling the lines wanted to make a separate queue for those pax that needed to pay a reciprocity fee, but when I asked if Canadians should join the new line he was making, he said, "Americans only".

I stayed in my (slow) line until I made it to the top of the escalator leading to the immigration area when he saw me again and said, "Canadian? Over here."

50 minutes later, I finally cleared customs. Viva EZE... :rolleyes:

I think that they assumed that only US citizens would be on a flight from the US ... no mention of Aussies either, or Mercosur citizens who can enter the Argentine citizen/resident line.

Unfortunately this was via one of official taxi companies that have an airport concession, and one of the guys who works for them always recognizes me and says hello.

John

Bienvenido a Casa mi querido Kiwi.... :D

Muchas gracias - it's because ... I really need the miles :D

Rubbish!!

You love the Quilombo... cant live without it... :p

If you didnt, you would have bought a Pad in Singapore, Geneva... or perhaps Kyoto.

:D

My wife and I flew out of terminal A at EZE the evening of 9 November and did not experience the disruptions that others have reported. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:40 p.m. We arrived at EZE at 7:15 p.m., got through check-in at AA in less than 5 minutes, and cleared immigration and security in less than 10 minutes. That left us a little over 2 hours to hang out in a very crowded AAdmiral's Club until our flight boarded.

The departure lounges in EZE are a disgrace..... :mad:

Who could turn down front seats at the cirko? :D

You may be a bit too generous in your compliment.

http://www.airplanefood.net/images/z...pg&w=500&h=375

Canned fruit cocktail in plastic beverage cups. Dee-lish! And Gor-May!

Amen !!! ^

You mean the airline lounges?

Yeah of the three I've been in the RCC has been about the best....although on that occasion it was very quiet which probably helped the ambience of the place.
The Admirals Club is okay if quiet, but it was kind of busy the last time we used it. I imagine it must be packed in the evening.
Food and drink selection in both lounges is adequate if you're just popping in for a short while. I wonder if they put out better grub in the evening when their own flights are leaving for N America?
The AMEX lounge even although refurbished is a horrible lounge.....food and drink were practically non existent when we were in so we left. I would rather be out sitting in a cafe in the departure lounge than visit that place again.

The RCC is probably the most "pleasant" space. I'm usually there when it is quiet. They don't even have the prime rib service anymore for their own UA flight, according to recent reports by Don Las Cañitas. And during non-UA flight hours, there aren't even little sammiches. The AC has 2 computer terminals, but otherwise, it is often quite overcrowded, and a somewhat awkward space. The Sala de las Americas is really a dive. But they have these puffy "cheetos-on-steroids" snacks. As my grandfather would have said, the staff there "has the personality of a busted fart." I believe I was once in the IB lounge quite some time ago. I don't recall any redeeming social value of that visit, if it actually occurred. (I think it did.)

The RCC is now much more pleasant while waiting for UA 846 ever since LH moved their FRA departure to late in the afternoon.
Earlier in the year the hors d'oeuvres were replaced by sandwiches de miga :td: but that's been reversed ^

The best thing about the RCC is that I'm greeted upon entry with "Good evening Dr. SoFlyOn - I see you're waitlisted for an upgrade to C." And getting paged to the front desk shortly thereafter :p

I found the Iberia lounge the best of all (though I've never been to the RCC since it's always closed at the time BA246 departs). It's a small lounge but quiet (at least at that time) and they have some nice sandwiches de miga.

I flew in from Uruguay today but landed at a smaller old military airport on the north side of the city. They had some large tents setup to handle immigration. Only a 5 min line and I was out of there. I fly out Sunday from EZE at 5:45am on TAM. Any insite on how early to be at the airport?

Thanks

Yes, but actually EZE in general is a disgrace..... the entire airport if a 4th tier operation... a shameful gateway to welcome visitors to Argentina. Compared to the new Montevideo Airport.... or to SCL its truly shameful...

:td: :mad: :(

Or to LIM, which has turned itself into a very nice airport (albeit now busting at the seams). Yet as crowded as it now gets in the midnight hub bank, it feels luxurious compared to EZE when it is empty.

Yes... I agree... I had a stop-over in LIM on my return leg from JFK and I was impressed.

Amen to that. Generally the most crowded you will find anywhere...

Another data point- I landed at EZE about 8am on 11/16, and while immigration was quick, customs was a huge bottleneck. The airlines hand out the new customs forms for you to fill out, but no one collects them. For whatever reason, even with every Xray lane open, there have been extremely long lines- easily 30 to 60 minutes, depending on which line you stand in- on both of my arrivals in the last few weeks.