Zanzibar airport staff target SA pax for quick buck

I
MMIGRATION officials
at Abeid Amani Karume
International Airport in
Zanzibar are requesting
random SA passengers
to produce yellow fever
certificates upon arrival
and offering to vaccinate
travellers without
certificates at a fee,
despite Zanzibar not being
a yellow fever destination.
Khashiefah de Kock,
ticketing consultant of
eTravel, was travelling with
three female colleagues,
one of whom did not have
a yellow fever certificate
as it was her first trip
abroad. “She was worried
about not having a yellow
fever certificate but we
double-checked on the
Internet and with our
travel clinic that it isn’t a
requirement,” Khashiefah
explains. However, when
the group arrived at
ZNZ and went through
customs, Khashiefah’s
colleague who did not
have a yellow fever
certificate was advised
that it was a requirement
and was offered a
vaccination for a fee of
around $100 (R1 400).
Khashiefah says the
vaccination set-up seemed
“dodgy and unsanitary”.
Although the immigration
officials were adamant,
Khashiefah’s colleague
was eventually let through.
“This led us to believe
that they were trying to
make a quick buck from
us,” Khashiefah says.
Sameera Carrim Rajah,
owner of SFR Travel &
Tours, also had clients
who were asked to
produce yellow fever
certificates but were
eventually let through
and Ryan Charles, travel
expert and flights manager
of Perfect Africa, is also
aware of this situation. To
avoid this, Perfect Africa
is advising travellers to
be vaccinated beforehand
and carry proof.
Alexis Bekker, director
of Brandom Brand
Marketing Management,
says the question to be
asked is how the medical
rule that yellow fever
vaccinations need to be
done at least 10 days
prior to travel is being
adhered to if airport staff
are offering to vaccinate
passengers upon arrival.
“Surely the vaccination
is then pointless,” she
says. “The law is the law
and travellers cannot
be forced to have a
vaccination when the rules
are clear.