[openfly]

I’ve just purchased a ticket from London to Greece return.
When the confirmation arrived, for the first time, I looked at all the various add-ons. I was fascinated to notice an amount of 20p to “Fiscal Stamp Tax…Angola”. I called the Exec Club and a lovely lady in Manchester was as fascinated as me and went off to investigate. It turns out that Mykonos airport pays 20p to the Angolan government for every passenger departure!!! So now you know where the 20p goes….

[capetonianm]

That’s bizarre, surreal.

[Johnnyg]

Did she say for what reason it is paid?

[openfly]

@Capetonian…exactly! Open your next BA confirmation and see if it’s there!

@JohnnyG….she just suggested that it is paid because that’s the deal with Mykonos airport.

Maybe someone on here from BA can check more deeply…it’s only 20p. But, a million BA passengers who pay a spurious 20p…£200,000…is a lot of money. (At least that’s what the finance minister of Angola thinks!).

[Flightlevel]

Its not as much as the UK Aid budget – often used for bizarre and surreal reasons too! Nor the £60+ p.a. each UK citizen pays to support the Royals – and tourism ofcourse! I trust Angola spends it wisely?

[SimonS1]

How odd. I’m surprised there is nothing about this on the web or in the public domain.

[openfly]

@SimonS1….me too. There are far worse things going on in the world, but I am determined to get to the bottom of this, so have written to Gold Card Customer Relations. It’s all fun!

[capetonianm]

I will look it up tomorrow when I have access to the GDS.

[openfly]

Thanks Capetonianm…in my ignorance, what is “GDS”?
Looks like lots of welcome rain for CT on wed…fingers crossed.

[capetonianm]

Yep, had some last night too. Fingers crossed.

GDS = Global Distribution System such as Sabre, Amadeus, Worldspan/Galileo/Travelport.

[openfly]

I don’t think the rain got to Milnerton, sadly.
Thanks for that…GDS. hope you find something ?

[capetonianm]

No I’m told it was Southern Suburbs.

I’ll have to look up that tax tomorrow, I can’t help thinking that what you’ve been told is wrong.

[openfly]

@Capetonianm….My neighbours reckon 20mm in Milnerton…better than nothing!
I am certain that you are correct…will be interesting to hear the truth. Thanks.

[LuganoPirate]

Didn’t the Greek government sell their airports or the rights, something like that, to Goldman Sachs in order to raise off balance sheet money to qualify them for getting into the Euro. Details are hazy but it was along those lines. Maybe GS sold those rights to the Angolan Government as a way for them to diversify their oil income?

PS. Capetonian, Openfly, my son says it will snow on Table Mountain today and Knysna also in desperate need of rain. In Lugano we will have 82mm today, sorry we can’t send some to you 😉

[capetonianm]

That’s ironic about the snow on Table Mountain, because I’m in the UK at the moment but my other half is in Cape Town, and as she doesn’t often go to Cape Town in the winter I told her it never gets really cold or snows.
So if it does snow today on Table Mountain I shall never hear the end of it.
We will of course welcome any precipitation. I’m going down later in the week and I have to make a speech at a wedding and one of the things that I’m hoping to be able to say if it’s raining is that rain in Africa is a good omen.

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