Sleep Over at the Airport

Greetings from merry old England! My flight from Nairobi was scheduled to depart at 11:45pm Saturday and arrive in London 6:45a on Sunday. Are you ready for a story?

We were informed at the check-in desk that the flight was delayed one hour. After a series of delay announcements, the clincher came at 2:00am. Our aircraft could not be repaired and they were arranging for another one, which would depart at 8:45am. And…there weren’t enough rooms available at the airport hotels to put us up for the night. That’s when it got ugly. The poor girl who made the announcement was verbally accosted by several irate men.

Most of us looked for a piece of real estate to curl up on for the night. When blankets were produced, some people decided to hoard the precious items of comfort. One man and I did our best to get blankets for several older women in wheelchairs.

Sleep was impossible due to the hard floor, airport “canned” music, and people complaining loudly. We were allowed to leave the gate area to use the toilet. However, the water was turned off shortly after 2:00am. Do you know what happens when there is no water in a restroom?

Some beverages and snacks appeared at 5:00am. Thank goodness! I knew I was beginning to get dehydrated, and was concerned for the children and elderly. We were moved to another gate at 6:30am. Two hours later, laminated Boarding Cards were placed in our hands without explanation. One woman went ballistic and a fight broke out in one section of the gate area.

Finally, they herded us into a very long, winding tunnel at 9:30am. We speculated where the tunnel would end. Thankfully, it led to an airplane and we finally departed at 10:45am. YEAH!

It truly is amazing that in all my travels, that was the first time I've had to sleep (a relative term) in an airport. I was grateful that I was alone. It would have been much more challenging if I’d been in charge of a group. My time in England was cut short, but I didn’t miss my connecting flight out of London. That, hopefully, leaves tomorrow afternoon.

Cheerio!