There were a lot of unhappy travellers. About 8pm we heard the announcement and went down to the gate to see what the plans were for our group. We were told that there were mechanical issues with the plane which had been sitting in a hangar since we got to the airport. Many Orthodox Jews were concerned at the delay because they don't travel on the Sabbath. There were also concerns about the people from our group who flew to Israel from other locations and would be waiting for us.
Finally we were told to make our way back to the ticket counters to pick up our food vouchers, hotel assignments and passes for our flights. It looked like there were about 300 of us and it was a long wait until they got it all organized.
We met a lovely lady while we waited in line, who is an Orthodox Jew though you wouldn't know from her dress. She and her husband and three sons and two daughters had just recently moved from their home in Cleveland to Jerusalem. What a big move and a dream come true for her. (She ended up sitting behind me on the plane. Her name is Miriam.)
From there we went to the opposite end of the airport to pick up our luggage and then down one level and back to the other end to pick up the shuttle to our hotel. We are at the Holiday Inn. So after a very late dinner at the hotel dining room we got to bed about midnight. Our flight is scheduled for 3:00pm tomorrow. Better than the 10am flight they were considering as we would have arrived in the middle of the night. Add seven hours for the time in Israel.
I'm getting the hang of this blogging.
No comments:
Post a Comment