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Wagering on the Weather.


FROM APRIL TO SEPTEMBER, FOG IN Buenos Aires delays flights at Ezeiza International Airport. But there are entertainment options to keep the thousands of stranded passengers occupied. According to Argentine newsletter Prensario, they include:

Interactive Games. Passengers with nowhere to sit and an abundance of time to kill often play "Guess when the planes arrive and depart." To make the game exciting, the flight information board is frozen for long periods of time. For example, if Air France flight 416 from Paris to Buenos Aires is rerouted to Montevideo Montevideo (mŏntāvēthā`ō), city (1996 pop. 1,330,405), S Uruguay, capital and largest city of Uruguay, on the Río de La Plata. It is one of the major ports of South America and the governmental, financial, and commercial center of Uruguay. because of fog, the information board continues to list the plaine's 8:45 a.m. arrival at Ezeiza. To spice up the challenge, some flight--like American Airlines 901 from Miami--aren't even put on the board. And, in the ultimate challenge, the board often goes completely blank.

Where's My Bag? Like roulette, this game is risky. A single conveyor belt is used to unload the luggage of several planes, creating a chaos that allows passengers to pick their favorite suitcase. The bag's contents determine how you've done in the game. Some passengers get so wrapped up in this challenge that, even after 12 or 16 hours aboard a plane, they remain an additional three hours in Ezeiza searching for luggage.

Phone Fun. This game is not limited to the stranded passengers. Anyone with a phone can play Simply call the airport at 44806111 (from outside Argentina, add the country code sven@univ.oslo.net.se, the message would first be sent to Sweden, since se is the country code for Sweden. Swedish routers would then send the message to univ.oslo.net where it will be waiting for Sven the next time he signs on.

Some search engines (AltaVista and Infoseek, among others) let you specify country codes in your search. This comes in handy when you want to locate (or avoid) sites that originate in a particular country.
 of 54 and Buenos Aires' code of 11). The goal is to reach the information office, beating out thousands of other callers. When the game is not in progress, the number's recorded message describes Ezeiza's marvelous technology and its concern for passenger comfort. Those who listen long enough may even hear a flight arrival time.
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Copyright 2000, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Latin Trade
Date:Jul 1, 2000
Words:293
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