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[QUOTE=Orgasmico;2986647]3 hours looking at sausages is ruff. Why they don't use technology to speed people through makes little sense.[/QUOTE]The technology isn't the problem.
Having just one Immigration officer for hundreds of people in line is ridiculous.
While planing my upcoming trip to Medellin, I've been setting up a few dates with some Instagram and Facebook girls. Luckily I came across a post in a Facebook group, about one of girls I've been talking to (Maria Alejandra). In the post it states she has drugged and robbed a client. I also read in another forum she mostly only sees foreigners and is always high on some drug called tussy. I'm assuming she pays off the cops, cause from what I've read she been a working girl for over 5 years and also does some porn (DM for links). DM if you want her phone number, don't think I'm allowed to post it here. I think I dodged a bullet, stay safe guys.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who posts in this forum, I'm somewhat new to the scene and this forum has been extremely helpful for my upcoming trip.
[QUOTE=Degenerate24;2986597]So is it worth taking a layover or even a longer layover through Bogota than flying direct to MDE to avoid the long lines? I would expect some long lines for domestic flights as well?
Cheers.[/QUOTE]Domestic flights don't go through customs and immigration so no line.
[QUOTE=Degenerate24;2986597]I would expect some long lines for domestic flights as well?
[/QUOTE]No lines for domestic flight arrivals. Just think about it, why would there be a line?
[QUOTE=Degenerate24;2986597]So is it worth taking a layover or even a longer layover through Bogota than flying direct to MDE to avoid the long lines? I would expect some long lines for domestic flights as well?
Cheers.[/QUOTE]So instead of leaving Miami at 8 am and arriving in Medellin at 11 am to wait in a 3 hour line that lets you out at 2 pm, you propose leaving Miami at 8 am and arriving in Bogota at noon. Then you will wait in a 90 minute line which will release you at 130 pm to go over and catch your 3 pm flight, getting you to Medellin at 4 pm. You just wasted 2 hours of your life because you did not want to wait in the Medellin line.
There are no lines for domestic flights. You scan your boarding pass and go through the gate and put your stuff through the xray then walk to your gate.
[QUOTE=Explorer8939;2986903]The technology isn't the problem.
Having just one Immigration officer for hundreds of people in line is ridiculous.[/QUOTE]Agreed. BKK does not use technology and it has no problem like this.
MDE already has enough technology if they can get it to work properly and utilize it. That's check-mig and stop asking questions that already been answered or just no question at all. That is the same as the airports with technology.
You know what, they got this bright idea of charging for luggage cart and even had a man to guard them with a rope but virtually no one use them all the times when I saw them. They can charge 25 USD for express line and should be able to hire more agents to solve it. I am sure many will be gladly pay for it. LOL.
I also agree with you on Bogota. It definitely is faster and they even send me to some kind a fast lane when I have a short connection,
[QUOTE=Knowledge;2986645]That is wacko. I'm thinking it might be another labor protest.[/QUOTE]It takes me 10 minutes when I arrive and about the same when I leave. I have been to MDE 14 times in 3 years.
[QUOTE=HumbleHal;2986885]Wish I could breathe with the Bogota altitude and Viagra in my system. I have had to switch to Cialis because Viagra stuffs up my nose. And the air is so thin in Bogota it's hard to make it up a flight of steps!
And I run 5 ks for sport.[/QUOTE]There is a nasal spray that I have bought at pharmacies that has helped, but I know what you mean.
The thing that shocked me is we stayed in a hotel on the Northern outskirts of Bogota called the Sabana Park in the suburb of Cajica, and there was not that awful nasal stuffiness. It is 45 minutes from the airport if there is no traffic, and that is probably going to be my go to hotel in Bogota now.
They have an Andres de Res restaurant in the suburb of Chia and I liked it better than the one in Bogota around the Andino mall. The service was way, way faster in Chia, and Andres is on this road Diagonal 13 with an amazing number of restaurants that looked good.
Yeah, you are not close to Santa Fe but there is some action in the North. There are some colleges up that way, and I wonder if the women there would have down for sugar relationships. I bet they would.
[QUOTE=Explorer8939;2986903]The technology isn't the problem.
Having just one Immigration officer for hundreds of people in line is ridiculous.[/QUOTE]Technology could solve some problems. BioMig and other things seem to work well and speed up the process. CheckMig was a disaster because of incompetence, but it could have saved time and hassle if it was working well and the government was using it for that. It's almost like they need to contract out someone to streamline the process for them. Hiring more agents would help, but I'm not a fan of the work ethic and potential labor slow downs, etc. , so I would prefer to see automation. I enter cities like London now with no human contact and no stamp. I don't see why it can't be the same for city like Medellin, especially if you are a repeat visitor.
[QUOTE=Orgasmico;2987015]Technology could solve some problems. BioMig and other things seem to work well and speed up the process. CheckMig was a disaster because of incompetence, but it could have saved time and hassle if it was working well [/QUOTE]I am at my girl's house in Dominican Republic. It is 8:44 am and the water is off in the neighborhood as it is every morning. It was off a period last night too. But that online immigration shit they have works like a top. Never had any problem with it. Never had a problem with the water being off in Colombia, but they have the shittiest immigration system ever. Even leaving the country, those Biomig machines can not read my passport. Dominican Republic (Punta Cana specifically) all you have to do is scan your boarding pass when you are leaving and the gate opens (like the ones for domestic flights in Bogota).
Checkmig helps speed up the lines in immigration. It is optional. You will notice if you don't use checkmig the immigration agents will ask you the same questions that are on the checkmig form. It doesn't make a big difference for the time any individual traveler spends at the immigration booth, but multiply that by however many are filling the immigration hall when you land and it easy to see the opportunity. If more people used it the line would move faster. I don't go back and forth enough to do it automatically. When I do remember I do it.
[QUOTE=Orgasmico;2987015]Technology could solve some problems. BioMig and other things seem to work well and speed up the process. CheckMig was a disaster because of incompetence, but it could have saved time and hassle if it was working well and the government was using it for that. It's almost like they need to contract out someone to streamline the process for them. Hiring more agents would help, but I'm not a fan of the work ethic and potential labor slow downs, etc. , so I would prefer to see automation. I enter cities like London now with no human contact and no stamp. I don't see why it can't be the same for city like Medellin, especially if you are a repeat visitor.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Knowledge;2987082]Checkmig helps speed up the lines in immigration. It is optional. You will notice if you don't use checkmig the immigration agents will ask you the same questions that are on the checkmig form. It doesn't make a big difference for the time any individual traveler spends at the immigration booth, but multiply that by however many are filling the immigration hall when you land and it easy to see the opportunity. If more people used it the line would move faster. I don't go back and forth enough to do it automatically. When I do remember I do it.[/QUOTE]I always use CheckMig and still get asked some of the same questions by the Agent. Also, you're not supposed to be able to Checkin to go to Colombia without it (or this was the policy before) so in theory everyone should have done it. At that point, like Mr E referred to in the DR and has been my experience in other countries, particularly now with facial recognition, the machine can check your passport and verify it is you. The machine can even calculate the amount of days you stayed in the country. Europe is moving towards this. The Agents can be more like the Helpers at a Self Checkout. I see this in the USA as well when you are boarding a plane and the facial recognition opens the gate. I think we all have a Biometric chip or something like that embedded in our passports.
[QUOTE=HumbleHal;2986885]Wish I could breathe with the Bogota altitude and Viagra in my system. I have had to switch to Cialis because Viagra stuffs up my nose. And the air is so thin in Bogota it's hard to make it up a flight of steps!
And I run 5 ks for sport.[/QUOTE]Here is a possibility for you to consider. Instead of flying directly to Bogota and suffering for a few days (or however long it takes your body to adjust to the altitude) try spending a few days in Medellin first. The altitude is about 4700 feet. A few days there and you will adjust to that altitude presumably with fewer problems. Then go to Bogota and you may find that the adjustment from 4700 feet to 8500 feet is not nearly as taxing.
March 3 article
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-03-03/facebook-tinder-airbnb-apps-are-used-for-sex-trafficking-in-colombia
[QUOTE=Orgasmico;2987101] particularly now with facial recognition, the machine can check your passport and verify it is you[/QUOTE]It has been available for at least 5 years or more in some developed countries. One can enter and depart without talking to airline agent or immigration. And when there is a problem with machine, it tells you to go to an agent and there is no line either, stamped and left. I saw Avianca tried to automate baggage drop-off with machines but it was still huge lines and did not work as well as those in the developed countries with similar setup.