Earlier today, when I passed through passport control at Chisinau Airport, the man who checked my passport gave me a free apple.
I’ve passed through a lot of customs checks and passport controls this year. Today was the first time I got given free fruit. It was quite a surreal experience. I handed over my passport in the normal way, the guy checked it and placed it back on the counter in front of me. Then he reached down to the side of his seat and when his hand reappeared there was an apple in it. He placed it on the counter next to my passport.
Needless to say, I was quite surprised by this act of fruity generosity. I had no idea what was going on. I said, “An apple?” The man never replied, so I thanked him and put my passport in my pocket and the apple in my bag.
I actually wondered if he did not like apples and his wife had packed one in with his lunch. It was feasible. Why else could he do with it? Option one: Eat it. Option two: Give the apple to one of the travellers passing through the airport.
I had a couple of hours to kill before my flight, so I went online and did some Googling with my phone. The problem was, every time I put in search terms like “free apple Chisinau airport” I got results about Apple iPhones and tablets. Nevertheless, I was determined to find out the situation with the fruit. Despite my best efforts, I didn’t. However, it’s not the first time the airport has given out free fruit.
Moldova Airport is operated by a company called LLC Avia Invest. Back in August 2014, it was the 23rd anniversary of Moldova’s independence and the company organised an initiative where travellers passing through Chisinau airport were given free Moldovan apples. However, on that occasion, the apples weren’t handed out by the people working the airport passport control. They were distributed by ladies dressed in the national costume.
I can only presume LLC Avia Invest had organised something similar for travellers passing through the airport on the final few days of 2018. The truth is, I will probably never know.
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