I feel like all I have done since March 2020 is cancel travel plans, reschedule, only to cancel again. It’s no surprise that the anticipation of upcoming travel has lost its thrill – I certainly don’t expect travel to happen until I am well enroute.
It’s no surprise I felt the same way about making it to Romance Writers of Australia’s conference this year. I last was at conference in 2019; like everything else it suffered cancellations, delays and closed borders. For me to get to the conference I had about 8.5 hours of travel (including 2 flights each way).
Spoiler: I got there! (but that’s a future post)
While travelling masks were mandatory on flights (although that ends in 1 day in Australia), but not in airports. Needless to say, I masked up from the moment I entered the airport, until the moment I left at the end of the trip (thanks to my mask and good luck I stayed healthy). After a day of fasting and dehydrating I was well and truly ready for something to eat and drink (cue Maccas drive through).
Of course, it still wasn’t smooth sailing. At the Canberra airport my fellow travellers and I were all waiting at our designated gate when the lights for the gate went out (about 10 minutes after appointed boarding time). Not a great sign. Voiceover announcement tells us we’ve changed gate. We all gather our things and make haste to the new gate. There we were told our plane had broken down and a new plane had to be readied – plus everything had to be taken off that plane and transferred to the new plane. Talk about stress when you have a connecting flight to make!
Luckily my connecting flight was also delayed and I managed to make it across the country to Western Australia.
Have you recommenced travel since covid took over our lives? If you have, was it smooth sailing?
September 7, 2022 at 8:24 pm
Oh, dear! Sorry you had to go through all that before you could make it to WA! Still, you got there and I bet the conference was fun!
No, I haven’t been travelling. The only thing I have done was a train day trip to Castlemaine outside Melbourne. That was fun, and there were no train headaches.
September 8, 2022 at 8:41 am
I’m lucky that I wasn’t more affected by the airline/airport dramas affecting everyone here at the moment, to be honest.
A day trip would have been lovely. I’m glad it was fun 🙂
September 8, 2022 at 4:48 am
I did so much business travel in my day that I’m happy to keep my feet on the ground. I don’t go anywhere now…
September 8, 2022 at 8:42 am
It’s good to know you got your travel in before your feet were grounded, John.
September 8, 2022 at 7:58 am
I have absolutely ZERO plans to travel in the new future haha not with how horrendous the airports are here right now.
September 8, 2022 at 8:43 am
Our airports are horrendous as well (Sydney airport travellers face hours of delays – and that’s just trying to get into the airport and past security, with many missing their flights!).
Umm, how horrendous are the airports? Asking for a friend 😉
September 8, 2022 at 8:59 am
Toronto is the worst right now! Like apparently in the world. Flights canceled, no credits, no help gettijg new flights, bags lost and never found, luggage just all lined up and waiting for people to find their own bags in the mess. I haven’t been watching or following the news about it lately but thats how it was. I don’t think its gotten any better lately.
September 8, 2022 at 9:26 am
Glad to hear you made it. All I hear are horror stories of airlines. I haven’t been anywhere, and I don’t intend to go anywhere for a while at least.
September 10, 2022 at 7:39 am
It seems to be a worldwide issue of airline horror stories. I wonder what has happened during covid to have made air travel so terrible?
September 10, 2022 at 6:30 am
I hope you didn’t check any bags. The poor bags get so lonely being shipped where you aren’t.
I am still waiting for a couple from the Budapest nightmare, right when the lockdown had landed.
September 10, 2022 at 7:40 am
I did check a bag, but I made sure the important stuff was in my carry-on (laptop etc). I figured clothes would be a pain to replace, but clothes are just clothes.
Hmm, do you think you’ll ever see them again?
September 11, 2022 at 7:57 am
No.
September 11, 2022 at 12:14 pm
🙁
September 13, 2022 at 7:29 am
I’m glad you made it there and back! I’ve flown twice this year. Both trips had delay issues, but thankfully no cancelations. I’ve just returned from a short-notice week-long road trip. It’s nice to have more control that way, but it takes a long time and everything feels just as expensive. 😉
September 13, 2022 at 8:16 pm
Road trips can be fun when you can meander. When it’s a matter of driving straight from A to B it can be long and tedious. Although you are right, the control is good!