Friday — April 16
No three words could have sounded sweeter! When the Lufthansa gate agent announced the boarding of Flight 3370 to İzmir, there was palpable relief in the gate area. For the ground staff, it meant that many fewer passengers stranded due to the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland. For us, it meant that we would make it to our final destination after all.
Lunch has been served; the trays and empty beverage glasses have been collected. I even managed a short but very refreshing nap, stretching out across the row of three seats I have to myself. Mom’s across the aisle from me, reading her book. She too has three seats to herself. Not sure how we got so lucky (the flight is more than 2/3rd full), but we’re not questioning our good fortune. The two-hour flight to İzmir is already half over, so I need to hustle if I want to get this post written. 
The last three hours of the flight from DC to Munich seemed interminable. This flight usually goes over Ireland and England for a shorter route; not this time. Our flight path today took us across the Bay of Biscay. Then we flew over central France, followed a corridor between Italy and Switzerland, and finally turned north to Germany. The bonus of the detour was a chance to see the Alps. The sky was a clear blue; the sun was glinting off the snow covered, jagged peaks. It was an exceptionally beautiful scene that even our sleep-deprived eyes could appreciate.
Finally, at 8:38a, just 20 minutes later than our initial scheduled arrival time, we landed at Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport. There was noticeable haze hanging over the airport, prompting us to wonder if our travel luck was going to hold? Were we going to get out of Munich and make it to İzmir? Frankfurt was already closed, the flight crew said. Could Munich hold off for another four hours?
In past years, deplaning in Munich was a straightforward affair. The aircraft would arrive at Terminal 2; passengers would walk down a very long concourse; those staying in Germany or connecting to domestic flights would veer off to the left to go through passport control; those connecting to international flights would stay in the terminal. That most definitely wasn’t the case today. After deplaning, we walked down long hallways, turning corner after corner, walking up and down stairs. Eventually, we found ourselves in an area filled wall-to-wall with passengers queued up to go through security. Mom and I both had the pleasure of getting wanded and frisked; my carry on was almost entirely disassembled by a security agent who was in a very nasty mood. I'm not sure why the change was made, but it was far more difficult to be a transit passenger at this airport today.
Once we were clear of security, the first order of business was to check the departures board. Our hearts sank when we saw row after row of flights with the dreaded red words alternately flashing: “annullierte/canceled.” Our hearts dropped further when we realized that there were no flights past 11:05a listed. There was nothing to do but find the nearest service counter.
Considering the number of flight cancellations, the loooooooong line at the counter came as no surprise. No way did we want to get in that line. Looking around, we spied a Lufthansa agent sitting at one of the nearby gates. She was friendly and helpful. Not only did she confirm that our flight was still a go, but she also reissued our boarding passes, assigning us aisle-aisle seats.
Next we turned our attention to getting a bite to eat. We settled on a bistro-type place and ordered a light breakfast, taking an hour or so to eat one croissant and one pancake (crêpe, really) filled with apricot jam. What can I say; we needed to kill time until our 12:05p departure.
A long walk down the length of the terminal eventually ended at our gate, where we managed to kill another hour. The scheduled 11:35a boarding time came and went; passengers started to get antsy. The gate agent was glued to her monitor, occasionally pecking at her keyboard. The phone rang and she answered. The look on her face said it all and her words confirmed it — the flight was delayed!
A few minutes later, the phone rang again. She answered; she listened; she rapped out a few staccato words and hung up. The announcement this time informed us that our flight crew was stuck in Hamburg, which was closed due to heavy ash in the airspace. Good news followed — a crew that was waiting for the Berlin airport to re-open was at a hotel in nearby Erding. They were now being assigned to us.
Our aircraft is at the gate; we just need a crew to fly it!
Long story short, after a one-hour delay, boarding was announced. We hurried through the turnstiles, made our way down the jetway, and settled into our seats … all in record time, I might add. The Captain came on the PA to say they wanted to get out of Munich without delay; more info to come after we were airborne. Five minutes later, the aircraft doors were locked and cross-checked, and the Airbus 320-200 was pushing away from the gate.
And that brings us to the here and now. We’re flying over the Aegean Sea; the Turkish coastline is in sight. Landing at Adnan Menderes Airport can’t be far behind. More later…
We’ll be feet dry over Turkey shortly.
It won’t be long before we’re on the ground in İzmir.
Later … 10:30p in İzmir
Mom and I just had dinner with Aylin and Murat (sis & BIL … here on out A&M). I’ve been up for 21 hours straight, so it comes as no surprise that I am feeling a bit woozy from lack of sleep. (I’m afraid I’ve not mastered the art of sleeping upright.) A few quick words to wrap up this blog entry and then I’m off to bed.
Lufthansa Flight 3370 was on the ground at 4:35p. Going through passport control was a cinch as our flight was the only international arrival.
On the ground at Adnan Menderes Airport.
(the building where Onur Air is parked is the domestic terminal)
The luggage didn’t take long to show up on the baggage carousel and soon we were leaving the restricted area to find A&M waiting to whisk us to mom’s apartment in Alsancak. A very nice reunion followed.
Not sure what we’re going to do tomorrow. I have a few errands to take care of … that much I know. The rest is TBD; we’ll just go with the flow.
Up Next: From Pazar to Boutique
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