Steven Erlanger writes in the NYTimes that the passengers on Air France from Paris to Beirut last Wednesday got more than they bargained for when they paid their fare. Unrest around Beirut's airport made it impossible to land. They did not have enough fuel to make it to Jordan so they opted to land at Damascus, Syria. Now France and Syria are not on friendly terms these days and the Damascus airport - alleging sanctions - refused to accept credit cards to purchase fuel - cash only! So the airline crew asked the passengers how much money they had in their wallets to help pay for fuel. I'm sure the passengers were anxious to flee Damascus but who carries cash these days. Eventually the airline settled the fuel bill without help from the passengers and the plane made it to Cyprus where the banks still accept credit cards - then on to Beirut a day late. In the shipping business we occasionally charged customers a "fuel surcharge" so perhaps we will see another airline fee add-on some day. Check the fine print. And kudos to the NYT reporter for a great story.
tjs
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