The Terminal [#2]

For the third time within a year, I have been stuck in an airport hotel by missing a connection! This time on my way to Calgary, thanks to fog over Paris and Amsterdam. And to Air France refusing to switch me to an earlier flight from Paris. Not as strictly stuck as in Delhi, as I could get outside in a sort of no man’s land between runways and expressways, or even reach downtown Amsterdam by public transportation, but with 24 hours to wait for the next flight. The most frustrating part is missing the ice-climbing day I had organised in Banff…

the terminal

The Terminal is this (terrible) movie featuring Tom Hanks getting stuck in an airport international zone for an indefinite time (and based on a real story that saw Karimi Nasseri remain in Terminal 1 of Roissy, for 18 years, when being there for a few hours is already unbearable!). In a similar spirit, we got quarantined to the international zone in Delhi airport for 24 hours, thanks to a missed connection. And to an Air India representative who could not be bothered in finding another route, letting us out to visit the city, or even providing us access to our bags. So we ended up waiting in the airport short stay hotel, around the clock, with a bed, food and wifi. Not the end of the World, obviously! And with a rather unique view on the registration desks below.