The Amazing Race > The Racers
♥TAR13 Terence Gerchberg & Sarah Leshner *dating*
georgiapeach:
Russian visas are very very strict. When Dallas lost his passport, it was the VISA that was the problem, not the passport. Replacing a visa is very complicated and can take up to 20 days. Visas are what entitle you to enter a country, and in the case of Russia, you also have to have one to LEAVE the country.
SO the way I understand it, T/S had a Visa for Russia of course. But when they flew thru Moscow on the way to Almaty (which they were not supposed to do), their passports were stamped as they transited the airport (despite in progress negotiations on the spot), which means that their visa (one entry--one exit) had been used, and they would not have had a current, valid visa to enter Moscow had they not been eliminated.
It may have been unlikely that a new visa could have been obtained in time for them to enter again....
And they could not of course enter Russia for the decoy duty either.
DrRox:
Since I didnt talk to those involved, I would assume that T/S had to use both terminals at SVO (Sheremetyevo International Airport) when they went to Moscow, enroute from Delhi to Almaty. The flight from Delhi would have probably deplaned at SVO-2, the internationa terminal. The flight from Moscow to Almaty would have probably left from SVO-1/SVO-C, the domestic /international terminal on the opposite side of the airport, causing them to have to "enter and leave" Russia to switch terminals. That uses up the one time entry and exit provisions of the visa. I hope this makes more sense.
From reading the website for SVO, they are trying to get a temp "transit visa" instituted for occurances like this. I bet their flim crew had the same problem. So that was 4 people that Production had to shake their heads at....lol
It is funny in a way, Toni and Dallas couldn't get out and Terrance and Sarah couldn't get in Russia. That's one of the very reasons I love TAR. When human beings are involved, plans never seem to work out the way you plan them.
apskip:
Dr. Rox sometimes at major airports you have to exit, then go through reentry in the SAME terminal. This happened to me in July at Dusseldorf. I would think that Moscow-Sheremetyevo to Almaty would leave from the same terminal that Delhi to SVO came in. changing to the domestic terminal, which I think is unlikely for a flight to Kazakhstan, may not have triggered the via use.
DrRox:
--- Quote from: apskip on December 17, 2008, 07:27:03 PM ---Dr. Rox sometimes at major airports you have to exit, then go through reentry in the SAME terminal. This happened to me in July at Dusseldorf. I would think that Moscow-Sheremetyevo to Almaty would leave from the same terminal that Delhi to SVO came in. changing to the domestic terminal, which I think is unlikely for a flight to Kazakhstan, may not have triggered the via use.
--- End quote ---
As you state, the u-turn through immigration is always a possiblity. In this case I believe that is impossible. Without a doubt, the Aeroflot DEL-MOS flight terminated at SVO-2. In the episode, T/S purchase their ticket from Aeroflot. The problem is, there are no airlines that fly from SVO-2 to Almaty. There are two airlines that fly from SVO-C to Almaty. They are Air Astana and Transaero. I have no idea which one T/S flew on, but they would have had to make a 15-20 minute taxi ride around to the other side of the airport to the SVO Terminal 1/C complex from SVO-2 terminal complex. They do have a shuttle bus that connects the two sides of the airport. Wikipedia has a very good description of Sheremetyevo International Airport at this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheremetyevo_International_Airport
The two terminal complexes at Sheremetyevo are the Terminal 1(Domestic) and Terminal C (short haul internationl), adjacent to one another, on the north side of the airport and Terminal 2 (long haul international) on the south side of the airport. The Terminal 1/ C complex and Terminal 2 complex are separated by the airports two runways. From Wikipedia, "There is no physical connection between the two terminals; they are essentially separate airports using the same set of runways. Such a layout is rather unusual worldwide; Perth Airport in Western Australia and Davao International Airport in Davao City, Philippines are other examples."
Here is a satelite photo of Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport, with the terminals marked.
The Wikipedia article also lists the airlines that serve SVO and which terminal they use. It also lists the cities that those airlines fly to from each terminal. Checking with the individual airlines websites, corroborates this information. The only two airlines that fly from SVO to ALA are Air Astana and Transaero and the both fly from Terminal C. Since Terminal C opened in Jan of 08, it would have been in operation in May 08 when TAR13 was being filmed. Whether or not those airlines were operating out of that terminal in May, I have no way to check at this time. I do not know how to go back in time and check on airline flights. I do have a life long friend that is a big wig for Sabre Systems that will be home at Xmas and I will ask him if there is a way to search for that info.
The only people that know the real answer is T/S and that is why I posted this question in this thread. Hopefully, Sarah will see it sometime and fill us in on this little mystery.
apskip:
In the interim before Sarah responds, your initiative, research and conclusions are very welcome, Dr. Rox. There are not a lot of options since Almaty is definitely not a domestic flight(although it used to be). After arrival at Terminal 2 from Delhi, you show that all one can do is to leave from Terminal 2 or from Terminal C.
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