The 4 De Fevereiro International Airport in Luanda came to a standstill on Thursday when the Cranes contingent with 26 people arrived.

The locals wanted to get a glimpse of the side which clobbered them 3-1 a week ago. "We were given a lot of respect at the airport from our hosts," the Fufa media man told Daily Monitor on phone.

The team is accommodated at Park Hotel in Luanda and Csaba conducted his first training yesterday at 11 a.m. East African time.

Weather conditions are reportedly fine though security is tight due to upcoming presidential elections. Financial hardships have dogged the Cranes trip to Luanda. Africa Travel Agency, which booked the contingent into Ethiopian Airlines has cost the team more than $2,000 due to an oversight.

The contingent's head of delegation Rogers Mulindwa told Daily Monitor that they were shortchanged. Mulindwa explained that they arrived safely in Luanda but were made to pay for their transit visas in Addis Ababa and Kinshasa.

"We were at the airport for one hour but the authorities in Kinshasa ordered us to pay $25 each ($650)," Mulindwa said.

"Even in Ethiopia we paid $70 each, ($1,890) for our accommodation and meals despite assurance from Africa Travel Agency that the accommodation was catered for. We were charged $20 for a transit visa and $50 for accommodation," he said.

However, a spokesman for the travel agency said there was a misunderstanding as the contingent was not supposed to pay. "We are handling the issue with Ethiopian Airlines to see how they get the refund," he said.

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