Layovers in Africa for European long haul crew: Nairobi, Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg and Cape Town, the security reality and the crew who love the routes
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#1 KLM, and the Africa network is the thing our crew talk about with a particular affection, so here is the honest crew guide to the African layovers, because the forum has a Nairobi thread and a Cape Town thread and not the whole picture.
The security reality first
The airline's security briefing for each city is the rule and it is not optional. In some cities the crew stay at the hotel and the hotel is a compound; in others the city is open. Crew who freelance the security advice are the reason the advice gets stricter. Follow it, and inside it, the African layovers are some of the best in the network.
Nairobi
Open, with care. The crew hotel is usually in a good district. The national park on the edge of the city is a real safari in a morning and the crew go in groups. The coffee is the best on the network. The hotel has a routine and the drivers the airline uses are the way to move.
Lagos
More contained. The hotel is the layover for most crew and it is a good hotel with a pool. Some crew go out with the airline's arrangements. The Lagos flights are full and lively and the passengers are the reason the crew like the route. The layover is rest.
Accra
Open and relaxed by West African standards. The beach, the markets, the food, the music. Accra is the West African layover crew ask for, and the Ghanaian crew on this forum will tell you why. Go with a colleague, use the hotel's drivers, and eat the jollof.
Johannesburg
The security briefing is the strictest and the crew who follow it have a good time: the hotel is usually in Sandton, the malls and restaurants are there, and organised trips to the sights are the way to see the city. The ones who ignore the briefing are in the stories. It is a serious briefing for a reason.
Cape Town
The crew favourite on the whole African network, and the Cape Town thread on here covers it: Table Mountain, the waterfront, the wine, the beaches, in a city where crew move freely in the tourist areas with normal care. The 48 hour Cape Town in the southern summer is the layover people bid the whole year for.
The others
Kigali (safe, clean, small, the crew who go love it), Entebbe (the lake, the hotel), Dar es Salaam (the hotel, the heat), Addis (the altitude, the coffee ceremony), Casablanca (the medina with a guide, the coast), Cairo (the pyramids in a morning, the traffic all day).
Why crew love the Africa routes
The passengers, who are travelling for real reasons and are warm about it. The crew community on the routes, which is tight. The layovers, which are different from the sameness of the European and American cities. And the sense of flying somewhere that matters. KLM crew bid Africa on purpose, for years, and it is the part of the network I would miss most.
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#2 Ghana, and Accra being the West African layover crew ask for is correct and we are proud of it. The jollof advice is correct too, and the Nigerian crew will argue about it in this thread, which is tradition.
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#3 Nigeria, and the Lagos description is fair: contained, good hotel, lively flights. The jollof comment is noted and will be addressed at the appropriate time.
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#4 Emirates from Cape Town, and the security briefing point for Johannesburg is the most important line in this thread. Sandton, the hotel drivers, the organised trips. The crew who do that have a great time. The rest are the reason the briefing exists.
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#5 @kwameflies I knew the jollof line would start something. That is why I put it in.