How to Book Travel on Albarka Air

Since 1999, Albarka Air has operated a small fleet of Boeing 727s and a 737 on domestic Nigerian flights and offered various charter services to other central and western countries in Africa. Regular scheduled services take travelers south to the coastal city of Lagos, as well as east to Yola and northeast to Maiduguri. Albarka Air is based in the central Nigerian city of Abuja.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Internet access
• Long distance phone access

Instructions

Book Your Trip With Albarka Air

1. Decide the days you want to fly and be sure that your departure cities and destinations in Nigeria include only Abuja, Lagos, Yola or Maiduguri.

2. Call the Station Hotline for your departure city to book travel. These numbers are listed on the personal Web site of the majority owner, Dr. Mohamed Buba Marwa (see Resources below). The phone number of the head office in Nigeria is 011 ([phone]. Expect inexpensive prices.

3. Confirm your flight the day before its expected departure. If you booked your flight through your hotel, you can have the hotel confirm it for you.

Travel in Nigeria

1. Travel by plane in Nigeria whenever possible, as ground transportation is not always reliable.

2. Plan to arrive at the airport about an hour and a half before your flight so you can check in on time. Albarka Air begins checking in passengers 1 hour before each flight.

3. Use a lock on your luggage to secure your belongings.

4. Bring some snacks with you. Air Albarka features a relatively generous snack and meal schedule, but flights later in the day have smaller rations.

Tips & Warnings

• All phone numbers include the United States international prefix "011." When calling internationally from outside the United States, check which prefix to use. All country codes are within parentheses and begin with a "+" sign.

• You cannot book travel on Albarka Air online. Reserve your seat by calling one of the Station Hotlines listed on Dr. Marwa's Web site.

• Check with your hotel when booking air travel. It's possible to book your flight directly with many major hotels in Nigeria.

• Avoid travel on Saturday, as Albarka Air only provides service Sunday morning through Friday evening.

• Always book Nigerian air travel using a credit card rather than cash. It's important to be able to dispute the charge should the flight be unexpectedly cancelled. Always ask for a receipt for your flight purchase.

• Contact Albarka Air to confirm the status of your flight. The country's unpredictable political climate makes even scheduled flights less than certain. Dr. Mohamed Buba Marwa, the airline's majority owner, has been a key administrator in Nigeria for a long time, but this fact has contributed to the controversy surrounding the airline.