When Flights Don’t Go As Planned: Delayed in Zanzibar

During the second leg of our Tanzania adventure, we were going to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro. For this, we needed to get from Zanzibar to Moshi. The most straightforward flight was from Abeid Amani Karume International Airport in Zanzibar (ZNZ) to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), which we had booked. The day before the flight, I got an unfortunate email: we were delayed in Zanzibar. 

This article is part of my Trip Report: Starting Summer in East Africa including:

• My Comically Bad Luck Flying to Africa
• No Compensation for an Involuntary Business Class Downgrade?!?
• Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge IAD
• Review: Lufthansa Business Class Lounge IAD
• Review: Lufthansa B747-8 Economy IAD-FRA 
• My First Flight on the Queen: My Thoughts
• Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge FRA
• Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge FRA 
• Review: Lufthansa A330 Business Class FRA-NBO
• Review: DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham
• Review: Air Kenya into the Safari
• JW Marriott Masai Mara Review: Luxury in the Savannah, a Truly Unforgettable Safari
• Is the JW Marriott Masai Mara Worth $3k a Night?
• Review: Aspire Lounge Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta (NBO)
• Review: Kenya Airways NBO-ZNZ E190
• Exploring Tanzania: My Thoughts on Zanzibar
• When Flights Don’t Go as Planned: Delayed in Zanzibar
• Review: Air Tanzania ZNZ-ARK
• Mt. Kilimanjaro Day Hike: My Thoughts
• Exploring Moshi, Tanzania: What Everyone Gets Wrong
• Review: Twiga Lounge by Aspire Lounge Kilimanjaro International Airport
• Weirdest Flight Delay I Have Ever Had… 
• Review: Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa Executive Regency Suite
• Exploring Addis Ababa: My Thoughts
• Review: Ethiopian Cloud Nine Business Class Lounge Addis Ababa
• Review: Ethiopian Cloud Nine B787-8 Business Class ADD-IAD
• My 18 Hour Odd Business Class Experience: A Stop in Lome, Togo?

The Risk of Being Delayed in Zanzibar

There was only one direct flight from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro for our dates. It was an Air Tanzania flight that departed at 10 pm, landed at 11 pm, and was operated by a Bombardier Dash-8.

It was a late flight, but we would get the whole day to explore Zanzibar. We could still make it to our hotel in Moshi before 12:30, which was a 40-minute drive from Kilimanjaro Airport. 

On the day before the flight, I got a notification that the flight was delayed an hour and a half. After looking at the history of the flight, it seemed that any delay meant a long delay. While an hour and a half sounded okay, landing at Kilimanjaro around 12:30 am before having to drive 40 minutes and check into a hotel sounded like a bad idea. This also assumes that the flight was not delayed further, which was likely.

Problem Shooting

My first thought is to check what other flights are available. There were no direct flights to Kilimanjaro, meaning we would have had to connect via Dar El Salam. This would have increased total travel time by 4-5x longer. No chance. 

After looking further, I found that Air Tanzania also operated from Zanzibar (ZNZ) to Arusha (ARK), departing at 2:30 pm. There were countless flights to Arusha, but the goal was to stay on Air Tanzania to avoid trying to get a refund.

We called Air Tanzania to switch us to this flight. It would be a 2-hour drive to our hotel in Moshi after landing, but it was still better than arriving after 1 am. 

Unfortunately, the representative on the phone was not very helpful. She told us that 1) the Arusha flight was available and 2) we could switch to it. What she was not able to do was switch our tickets.

We ended up calling back and speaking to another agent who seemed unable to help us switch to the Arusha flight. We gave up for the night and called back in the morning. Then they told us there was a ticket office (on the other side of the island) and they could help there.

How We Solved the Problem

We hired a tour guide to visit a spice farm and Stone Town that day, so we asked if the driver could kindly stop at the ticket office. When we arrived, the agent said she could not help us, but we needed to call the same phone number again. Ugh.

Eventually, another agent sensed our frustration and chimed in. We had come up with a solution. However, we just needed confirmed tickets on that flight.

After having us call the same phone number, the individual who appeared to be the outpost manager gave detailed and specific directions to the phone representative about how she could reissue our ticket.

Luckily, we got confirmed seats on the new flight. 

The Last Point

While we were delayed in Zanzibar, we made the most of the situation and got new flights out. I am happy we did because our original flight did not take off until nearly 12:30, arriving after 1 am.

I wish it would have been easier to switch flights, but I am grateful we could, regardless. It could have been a whole lot worse of a nightmare while we were delayed in Zanzibar without a hotel or flights, but it worked out. 

The lesson learned: always have a backup plan and make sure to adapt when things do not go as planned.