After more than a half a decade based in the Middle East , this was supposed to be my smooth transition back to stateside living. I guess I should have thought to check my volcano forecast before getting on the plane in Tel Aviv.
No one on the plane seemed to suspect a thing was wrong. On approach to Heathrow the TV monitors were all askew. The airline blankets were kicked about like a teenager’s bedroom and the flight attendants had bright shiny smiles on their faces as I was asked to store my laptop for landing.
Just as we were getting ready to get off one plane and I was getting ready to switch to another, the announcement went out that all of us needed to fill out immigration cards in London , get off the plane and get our bags. There was a cloud from a volcano in Iceland and the airspace over Great Britain would be closed. A couple of shrieks went out among the passengers. I just wondered how long this delay would last. This is my first volcanic cloud. Rockets, grenades, tear gas, I’m a conniseur, but a volcanic cloud? I’ve got no prior experience for that and no idea what to expect for how long this is going to take.
The line was long through passport control but then again, after six years coming and going through Israel, I’ve seen worse. Re-claiming baggage was hectic because the bags were all coming off on the wrong belts. My luggage was easier to locate cause each bag was big enough to haul a small pony. After all, I’m not just headed on vacation, I’m moving. So, I got the baggage cart and took an elevator to the top floor to the British Airways help counter. Forget discussing plans for a new flight, BA’s assistance was only geared towards getting people into hotels. The scheduled flights were all still listed on the departures board with the word ‘cancelled’ flashing after each flight. Meanwhile, British Airways employees worked their way up and down the line handing out water and snacks.
Then the discussion began about whether British officials were being too cautious at our expense. But the majority consensus seemed to accept that they delays were preferable to taking a risk that could cause a tragedy.
However, it became apparent, after a while, that this line was not the path to my salvation. I contacted Fox headquarters in NY to see if anyone wanted me to jump on the air and talk about this, wheeled my towering baggage cart out of the line and got a cab. I hadn’t picked up any British pounds so I had some hassles with the cab (I figured I could get away with credit card.) But the bright spot to this whole thing is that I had an unplanned reunion with my colleague Amy Kellogg and some of the rest of the Fox crew doing lives by the airport. I jumped on the air for a quick live shot and Bill Hemmer busted my chops because I haven’t shaved in a while.
That wraps up the adventure to this point. The official word is that British airspace will open up sometime around 6pm on Friday. I don’t think many people here have much experience with volcanic clouds either. I get the feeling that time frame could slide. I’ve been stuck in worse places than this and the pubs are open. I’ll try to be strong.