Holed up for the night in Novotel just across the road from the entrance to Birmingham Airport. No sign of @Declan_Moffat sending me a PM to offer assistance either. It’s interesting to observe human behaviour in these situations. Some people completely lost the head & were shouting at & jostling the airline agents, you could see how societal breakdown & riots occur. Others taking on self-appointed spokesperson/union rep type roles for the group & a few panicking & crying to family on the phone.
I stealthily got near the top of the queue to get sorted for the night by eavesdropping a side staff conversation. I was able to hear the location where they were opening a door to transfer us from being airside back to a designated check in area to take details for hotel bookings. As my good deed for the day, I discreetly/discretely told a family with a couple of young kids & we loitered there while others were stomping around. Aer Lingus have kindly paid for a late dinner/buffet & breakfast but I need to wait to see what flight tomorrow they book me on.
My main problem now is my contact lenses are daily disposable, I’m completely blind without them & I have no glasses or spare lens. I might need to sleep in them or just stay awake all night or risk taking them out & using them tomorrow. I’ll also be wearing the same clothes in the morning as a nod to lapsed poster @MrTotti, & my underpants are quite damp due to the stress & heat of waiting around in a cramped space.
All in all, it’s extremely distressing to be displaced & I now have a genuine appreciation of what those folk in the tents on Mount Street & along the canal have experienced. These are tough times but tough times make tough people, & the main thing is I had a productive day’s meetings & networking.