17 November 2006
You need a holiday after a departure like that...
We are back on British soil, safe, well and hmmm......... rested. But what a nightmare our departure was! At the airport we arrived three hours early, at the suggestion of the airline company. To get ourselves organised for this our packed cases were waiting by the front door by 8am.
We were showered, dressed and eager to get to the airport with Raenie asking for the zillionth time "are we leaving yet?" It was my fault, I should have written him a timetable - aspergers and autistics prefer to know what is happening at appproximately what time.
The cab driver was on time, thankfully. He took all our cases, seven(!), plus seven people and a wheelchair.
We all climbed aboard and we were off, excited, but a little apprehensive about flying. Paskal, although has not been too worried before, was very worried about flying this time. Biting his fingernails and generally being very tactile (something he has done more and more in the last couple of years). He gets very anxious about certain things - public transport being a particular issue.
We arrived at the airport in good time only to be faced with huge queues of people. It was so busy in fact, we had no idea where to go. Typically, there was no one available to ask directions. A message over the loudspeaker announced practically all destinations but ours. Nothing mentioned Atlanta.
We finally found a staff member of British Airways and explained we had two children with special needs. She simply told us to find somewhere to wait and stay there until our flight was called. So, we waited two hours with Paskal becoming more and more agitated and Raenie asking over and over whether it was time to leave.
Eventually, it was time to take action. I found some seats amidst the chaos and, luckily, I had made sandwiches and bought drinks which seemed to keep everyone occupied temporarily.
We told by the BA attendant had asked us to find her when our flight was called, but as I'm sure you can imagine, this was like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack. Fortunately, Elle spotted her and we
managed to get her attention. She took us straight to the front of the queue. Brilliant!
Apparently, the reason for the backlog was an electircal fault on the luggage conveyer belts. Soon we'd passed through the check in. Our numerous bags had been checked and made out way to the departure lounge with just enough time for a quick drink before boarding the plane and taking off for well deserved a family holiday...
'Til next time!