A bit of rain in Dublin earlier & they seemingly closed a runway for a couple of hours, thus delaying plenty of flights in & out by the same amount of time. Iām now looking at a revised red eye departure time of 22.45 & thatās likely to be pushed further out towards midnight. International business travel is an absolute curse. Sitting in the airport when I could have been in that pub.
What airport are you in buddy?
My flight is cancelled because of a bit of rain in Dublin. Iām stranded on the mainland.
Ouch. Weāre getting the late flight to ORK now
Red eye to Athlone in the morning
Paddy Potatoehead out with a fork trying to sweep water off the runway
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. Itās 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, Iām 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. Iāll 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, itās 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 dayās meetings & networking.
As someone who wore daily (now wearing monthly) sleeping with contact lenses in is no problem.
As a fellow father, I felt that the nights sleep alone would benefit you more than arriving in Teach Moffat where we have one teething child whose sleep pattern is erratic at best.
Iām sure that as an international business man , you understand that when an opportunity arises you take it with both hands. You will now be more refreshed to be the best father you can and get those business deals over the line. Your life partner will also see how an international business trip is a benefit to the family as a whole.
I couldnāt believe that when I heard it on the radio last night. A soft day and they are down to one runway because of the weather?
OR (Operational Restrictions) are a feature of air travel globally when there is LV (Low Visibility)
āWe go again. We do not let this slip now.ā - Steven Gerrard.
Aer Lingus werenāt answering their 24/7 emergency number for cancellations last night. Just keeping you on hold & then cutting off. I finally got through at 6.30am & was helpfully told theyād made arrangements for me to fly on the 8.15am flight from Birmingham TOMORROW. I was apoplectic & the gentleman told me I should have rang last night.
Plan B was launched then.
You checking for pubs with illegal sky sports or what?
get the ferry mate
Time to give up and make a life for yourself on the mainland.
Be thankful you donāt have to go through Birmingham security again #kip
Why didnāt you ring last night?
Could you not have put in a lovely day away from the family around Birmingham?
Next timeā¦
A bottle of saline from a pharmacy will keep the lenses overnight. Does need a container though.
A spare pair of lenses should always be in the car and the laptop case.
Northampton isnāt one of them either.