August 11, 2021
In Schipol
We’re still in a hurry up and wait pattern, so we might as well stretch the foreplay out a bit longer. We’re sitting by the tracks at the train station in Schipol airport, waiting for our train to Antwerp which won’t leave for another hour yet.
Since we’re here, it’s apparent that we made it across the ocean. There were no issues with customs once we arrived - they didn’t need to see anything but our passports - and the agent at the train window assures me that there will be no issues with boarding the train either. We don’t need to present any credentials beyond our ticket. So it appears like we’ll make it to Belgium, but the agent didn’t know if we’d have to show anything once we arrive in that country. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get turned back yet, but it does look like we’re in the door.
The flight itself was without incident, once it got off the ground. The lead up to departure was unusually interesting though. Loading was about ten minutes behind schedule, but the engines had started and we were receiving the safety presentation when the pilot announced a slight problem. One of the passengers had somehow managed to get his baggage loaded onto the plane with his passport on it. There would be a slight delay while the baggage crew searched the hold for this passenger’s luggage. Has anyone ever heard of this happening before? We haven’t.
Twenty minutes later two late arrivals entered the cabin and took their seats; and since there were new passengers, the safety presentation was repeated for their benefit before taxiing for departure.
And then, I heard a gasp from someone with a window seat (we’re in the center section this time so missed the best views of the upcoming show).They’re looking to the horizon, which has suddenly turned very dark. A minute later flashes of lightning appear, then thunder. Then the windows of the plane all are covered with sheets of water, like we’re standing outside a glass doored shower stall.
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And then, the pilot is back on the loud speaker, announcing that there will be a delay of unknown length. The airport is shutting down until the storm passes, and the plane is killing the engines to preserve fuel. For the next 45 minutes we wait while the storm runs its course, the environment in the plane growing warmer and less comfortable by the minute. Finally the storm passes, the engines start up again, and after waiting for the seven or eight other planes in line before us to take off, we do also.
We’re an hour and a half behind schedule. It’s a nice time to be on a nonstop, with no anxieties about missing a connection.
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Would love to know how that happened since the passport is required to check in check luggage(??)
Glad you made it across the pond!
3 years ago
3 years ago
Thank goodness pilots and air traffic controllers have more common sense than I do. A "delay of unknown length" seems pretty reasonable when hundreds of passengers are involved. I only have to be responsible for myself.
And there you are, safely deposited in Europe. I trust you'll have a blast there, and I trust you'll tell us all about it.
3 years ago
And quit biking in electrical storms! Does the Feeshko know about this irrational behavior? I think someone should tip her off.
3 years ago