Alps from Malpensa Airport, Milan. August 2016
[from FB post: July 16, 2014]
Milano!!! I flew in low over the Alps on a clear day.... gorgeous scenery. The color of the mountain lakes is just unbelievable. Lovely no questions immigration. Now here I sit waiting for my flight to London. The airport, by the way, is SOOOOOO fantastic. When will the USA ever start to upgrade and modernize it's airports -- it's almost embarrassing at this point. JFK is such a dump
Tense moments.... the plane is apparently missing paperwork and the Italian authorities are not letting us board. So..... the drama continues. I am just tired
[later that day]
My flight was just cancelled.... let the adventure begin!!! (sigh)
[from FB post: July 17, 2014]
Buongiorno Italia. I spent the night in a hotel (on BA's dime) last night. After a shower, sleep, and breakfast -- at least I feel human. Today's adventure includes -- getting to London to try to pick up my flight to Madrid before it's too late?? I thought a vacation was to be relaxing....
[later that day]
Back at the airport.... one more try Milan to London. And if I am lucky, onto Madrid?? At least I had a night's sleep and some breakfast. Amazing what sleep, shower, and food will do to improve your optimism...
For a person who has flown as much as I have, I have been very lucky with cancelled flights and overall bad air travel experiences. Then there was that flight to Madrid from Dubai via London...
What was I thinking? Actually, the trip was well-planned with LOTS of connecting time and good foresight. As the saying goes, "Men make plans and God laughs". I was traveling with a huge bag because I was repatriating a lot of clothes to the USA that I absolutely was never going to wear in Saudi Arabia. That in itself was unusual for me, traveling "heavy" - but the trip was well-planned!! Fly to London, drop the bag with Adrian FVdR in Notting Hill, and catch a flight with him the next day to Madrid for a week (with my bag safely stowed at his place). After Madrid, we would return, I could hang out in London, and then go back to the US with big bag in tow.
Malpensa Airport is Milan's "new" airport, quite a distance from the city. It takes nearly an hour to get there by the airport express train. The sleek terminal interior is super modern with huge windows from which you can see the Alps on a clear day. I arrived at Malpensa and initially was so impressed! No problem killing time for my multi-hour layover walking around such a nice space - I could drink real Italian coffee (which is also good in Italian airports).
Later, all the passengers gathered by the gate - time passed and we weren't boarding. No worries, I could arrive late in London. I was smug, "this is the very reason I built in a stopover in London". The delay persisted and my feelings went from annoyed to worried. As all people have experienced in similar situations, the lack of information was pathetic. People were angry - some people had connecting fights in Heathrow.
Finally an announcement was made, the flight was cancelled because of a lack of a replacement part for the emergency lighting in the floor. According to EU regulations, we were not allowed to take off until it was repaired AND the part needed was not available at Malpensa. (maybe the Brexiters were right - damn EU overregulation!) The solution was to fly another BA craft in. The delay would be horrible, but we would get to London. Later it was announced there was no plane available until the next morning. Ugh. Overnight at the airport...
But no! I was in the EU where they HAD TO put us up in a hotel (maybe the Brexiters were wrong - what great EU rules!). After a lengthy process of checking our tickets at the airport, we got on a bus and were whisked off into the Italian darkness around midnight. I just remember getting to my room and collapsing onto the bed (and setting my alarm for early the next day). I had some fitful rest anyway. Breakfast was not fabulous, but appreciated. When I stepped out of the hotel I found we were even closer to the mountains which made for lovely views. We were herded back on the bus and headed back to Malpensa. I got on a flight to Heathrow which was slightly delayed. That meant running across that airport (which is HUGE) to catch the flight to Madrid. I literally got on the plane as they were shutting the door.
I met Adrian in Madrid (who, travelling on the original ticket, had just arrived himself) and we went to collect my bags. Missing! They did not make the short connection. I wondered how much worse the situation could get since I had a LOT of nice clothes in that bag. As it turns out, my bag was already on the next flight and BA kindly told me to go to my hotel and they would deliver my bags there. That was a godsend because we could take the metro into town and BA would send my very large bag later. Happily, it arrived without incident to our hotel.
I was in Madrid, finally. Via Dubai Terminal 3, Malpensa, and Heathrow I arrived in a country I was about to visit extensively and repeatedly. Maybe the travel gods were just making sure I really wanted to go to Spain?
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