It’s funny, cause I remember thinking on the way to Australia, that the journey could not have gone better. I was healthy. Trains and flights were all on time. Transfers were easy. I was upstairs on the A380 with the bar in my favourite seat for both legs. There wasn’t even a wait for shower at the lounge in Dubai.
So, I was quite looking forward to the return trip.
And then I woke up on Sunday morning, the day before I was due to fly, to news of war in the Middle East. A few hours later came reports of Dubai airport being bombed, and I suddenly knew this wasn’t going to be the straightforward way home I’d imagined.
Upon ringing the airline, it was clear they didn’t really have much of a plan. My flight was still scheduled, they told me – I should wait and see if it gets cancelled. And because they weren’t cancelling flights until a few hours before, I had to go through the whole rigmarole of packing my bags and getting ready to go… all the while hoping they would cancel it before we had to leave for the airport. Which thankfully, they did.
After spending a lot of time on hold, and having a back up flight ready to go, I was lucky to be rerouted through Japan. When I baulked at the 19-hour layover that was being suggested, the woman on the phone was calm but firm. There is nothing else right now. I suggest you take it.
The extra days were bittersweet. I was happy to have a bit more time. But I spent a lot of it planning or stressing about the trip home. In the end I got a couple more swims, a couple more catch ups, and tried to absorb as much warmth and love as I could.
Because I was lucky. I made it home, less than a week later than planned, with only a little additional expense, anxiety and inconvenience. I can’t even imagine how stressful it would have been to get stuck in Dubai. And compared to the uncertainty I felt in the days that it was all happening – it was all a bit Covid-esque wondering if and when a flight would even happen – the return home was relatively good.
Though I’m not going to lie… it’s a flying adventure I never want to repeat.
I’ll go into details next week.
an aussie in austria 