There
were times when an airport seemed to be my home away from home. So much so that, before the advent of the cell phone, my “snail-mail” (the only one available at the time) would wait for me at what was
then the Eastern Airlines Ionosphere Lounge in Miami. Yes, waaay back then… The
easiest way to “interconnect” destinations in Latin America was to come back to
Miami and go from there to the new port-o’-call.
- “Hi
Mr. Alcazar…” would say the attendant at the lounge, with her best business smile…
-“here’s some mail that came for you”.
Services
to the “business club” traveler was much better then than now…
Why
does this come to mind today, as I sit here far removed from the air highways
of the world?
A few
days ago, I went to the local airport to wait for my wife who was coming back
from a short vacation, spent with her sister and niece. When I say “local” airport,
this doesn’t mean a one-flight-a-day wonder. Charlotte is considered among the
top 5 traffic airports in the nation. It is a busy place, even in the later evening
hours.
I sat
in the baggage area waiting, and there was a chance to see a host of bedraggled,
tired looking folks of all shapes, colors and sizes walk by. Some tiredly hauling
their respective suitcases, others with that look that says “here we go again,
let’s see how long it takes to get my bags from that little mystery tunnel” … And
yes, all with their water bottles in tow because we must keep hydrated, especially
at 20,000 feet in the air. No wonder today the line at the plane’s bathrooms are
longer than the lines at the terminal (never did like this name as it related to air travel).
There
were some 20-30 minutes to wait and after a few minutes of “crowd gazing’, my
mind began to wander… traveling back in time to when I was one of those tired
looking shufflers, getting off at my next business destination or getting back home
after 10-12,000 miles (or hours, I’m not
sure which but it certainly felt like it)
of relentless travel.
At an
airport in a small Caribbean island (yes,
business!) we stood under a thatched roof (it was a very small airport), looking at our plane while all on
hand attendants were around one of the tires which seemed to have gone flat.
One of them had a manual on hand; I guess to figure out what to do under the “Tires,
Flat” section. Much to our relief, a
spare plane was sent to pick us up and we made it back safely.
Another
time, in a small regional airport at a small country town in one of our brother
Latin American countries, there was this gentleman farmer who insisted on
bringing his pig on board the passenger section. Cooler heads won the moment and
he was convinced to send it via luggage cargo.
Then,
there was the landing on a very short runway, which dropped into the warm, blue
Caribbean water (and rocks) at its
end. When we (our plane) finally
slowed down enough to turn, the outer wing was totally over water. We had at
least … 7 feet to spare before plunging into the water and rocks.
The most memorable for me were two situations.
Once on
an L-1011 landing during a terrible storm in Atlanta, GA. I sat at a window by
the wing and all I could see were massive raindrops. As we quickly approached the final
landing, I couldn’t see any concrete underneath… Apparently the pilot noticed
that small detail as well for, at the last second before what might have been a
grass touch down, he seemed to shove the power sticks full forward and the plane
(a big one) jumped forward about
15-25 meters barely touching down (actually smacking down)at the beginning of the strip. Disaster averted.
The
other one was a take-off from Sao Paulo, Br. This was on an older PanAm 747. We
had had to land at Sao Paulo due to malfunctions, on a flight from Buenos Aires
to Miami. As soon as we took off, the plane began to strongly sway from left to
right and then back to the left. It continued this violent zig-zag pattern for
about 15 minutes. Then, the pilot simply said – “Sorry folks, we were
navigating between electrical cells… we wouldn’t want to get hit by a major lightning
strike, would we now?
No,
we wouldn’t.
Fleeting
airport memories while waiting for my wife to arrive. Considering I logged almost 3 million miles during my business -on air- career,
there were few of these instances. Commercial flights with well qualified pilots
are the safest mode of travel. Or so they tell me…
But
there will be those moments which stand your hair up and set your knees to
jelly… and these are the ones that tend to stay in your memory.
Happy flying!!
Be
Well … Be Back!!!
Final Notes:
· Pray
for those who are
fighting an illness which may take them away from their loved ones… Every
request is heard, and counts!!
