Lesson #101 of travel. Don't fly during the peak holiday season. At Heathrow none of the e-passport readers are working. The line for immigration takes an hour and ten minutes.
London is hot. The shady side of the roads crowded. The side of the road in full sunshine deserted. Some of the New Yorkers were delayed in getting to London because the departure areas at Kennedy became overcrowded and were closed. This meant that flights were delayed and landing slots lost.
On the way back through Heathrow for the delayed flight to Toulouse the line for security takes an hour and a half ... and that's with Fast Track. There is still a massive shortage of airline and support staff.
Goes without saying the flight is not only delayed but late. An eight o'clock departure turns into ten which turns into ten thirty. Angus gets into Toulouse at one in the morning. Unsure whether he'll make it 'The Font' books him into an airport hotel. Seems that the hotel is used by Airbus during the week for meetings and empties out and becomes mega cheap at weekends. This explains why the table and chairs look as if they've hard a hard life while everything else looks unused. The hotel room is also unusual for having two entire walls covered with cupboards.
At six am the first flight of the day heads off to Tunis. Considerably later 'The Font', Sophie and Angus are reunited at the airport Starbucks. Croissant ends, an errant member of the flock and sliding doors that make a magical 'whoosh' noise when you put your paws in front of the sensor. Beat that for a Saturday mornings excitement !
6 comments:
Welcome home.
Glad to know that you finally arrived home safely, Angus. I remember another PON family member who was fascinated by those automatic doors at Toulouse Airport.
Sophie's weekend must be well and truly the best time ever - curly croissant ends, and the return of an errant family member. The whoosh of those doors is just the icing on the cake!
Look at that decidedly empty airport! What a relief! It looks like there were many mask worn at Heathrow. That's good. glad you're home safe!
Why do the New Yorkers want to travel? Especially now, with a new surge of covid in the works? Do they not know how to run a Zoom meeting? I find this mystifying.
Glad you are home safe and sound.
Allison - Seems that after two and a bit years of lock down everyone wants to travel no matter what the risks or the discomfort. London is busy and bustling.
Ye Gods! Travel to be avoided at all cost! Sophie, and you, will sleep well after that marathon!
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