It’s surprising I don’t have more misadventures as a result of the minimal preplanned I do for most of my travels. This finally caught up with me on a recent trip retuning from Scotland. It was the last day of a driving tour I took around Scotland.

This trip was completely unplanned, no route, no reservations. I had a general direction but no schedule. I began the trip in Edinburgh drove north along the eastern coast then took the ferry across to the Orkney Islands. I returned through the highland on the west coast returning though Glen Coe eventually ending up at in Edinburgh. The weather was perfect during the entire trip making for a very pleasant drive with plenty of fantastic photo opportunities.

This part of the trip worked out perfectly. There were usually plenty of places to stay except in some of the smaller villages I stopped. Usually a B&B owner always had a connection with an accommodating neighbor. Where I went wrong was not following the events in Glasgow after the terrorist attack on the airport and thinking through the consequence this would have on flights. Getting to the airport was not enough, delaying my flight a day would have been a lot better.

On the last day, I was passing through Glasgow when three terrorists drove a flaming vehicle into the Glasgow airport terminal. I was listening to reports on the radio as I drove thought the city. It was the first day of this portion of my trip and the first day it rained. The rain made Glasgow less inviting so I slowly passed through the city and headed to Edinburgh where I was to fly back to London in preparation for my trip to Russia.

I did have the forethought to return the rental car the night before my flight and get a room at a hotel near the airport. The only flaw in this plan was the car rental return is at the airport.

The scene around the airport was chaotic. No cars were being allowed in front of the terminal. In fact, cars, busses and taxis could not get within 300 meters of the terminal. There was a temporary perimeter barrier created using heavy mechanical equipment, such as snow plows, cranes and front-end loaders, running along the front of the terminal building.

At the entrance to the airport all vehicles were being stopped and searched before being allowed to enter the airport property. Vehicles were only allowed to drive to the perimeter parking lots, nowhere near the terminal. Rented cars were allowed to get closer but there were checkpoints all along the route to make sure I only went to rental car return.

The entrance to the airport was completely blocked with traffic that was backed up to the highway. Passengers were getting very frustrated. Many of those being driven to the airport left their rides, said their goodbyes and dragged their luggage to the terminal. The rain had stopped but the gray sky added to the gloom of mothers having to carry babies while dragging their suitcases to the terminal.

Not knowing what to expect the next day, I left the hotel hours before the flight. I brought along a book and decided I would just park myself at the gate and wait it out. I was not surprised when I was the only one waiting at the departure gate three hours before the flight. I did become concerned when it was less then half an hour before the scheduled departure and there was still no one there. The departure gate had been changed. I walk to the other end of the terminal to the correct gate, where there was a crowd waiting to board.

As I was standing in the boarding line, with the gate sign flashed “Boarding” it suddenly changed to “Closed”. An announcement followed there would be a slight delay due to congestion at Heathrow. There were a number of announcements, each pushing back the departure time.

The flight was meant to depart at 19:00, we did not leave Edinburgh until 21:30; more accurately, the terminal building. There was an additional delay after we boarded, five passengers did not board and the airline must remove unaccompanied luggage from the plane. The pilot was very apologetic about the combined delays. At this point I should have started counting how my times I would here, “Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you we are experiencing another slight delay.”

We taxied to the runway and were delayed again as the luggage removal exercise put us out of sequence for Heathrow. We sat on the taxiway for awhile while the captain kept coming on to apologize and keeping us abreast of our status.

Off we went, other then a couple of bumps during the decent, it was a smooth flight. We pull off the runway and stopped. The captain announced that due to our late arrival our gate was not ready to receive us so we would have to sit on the apron until a vacant gate could be found. “Oh, yes, we will be deplaning at the international terminal.” That sounded innocent enough. Later it had implications with picking up my luggage. After fifteen minutes on the apron we headed for our newly assigned gate, but not quite.

The Captain, again, “Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you we are experiencing another slight delay.” He went on to explain in order for him to properly dock the plane, a guiding light had to be turned on that assists in the proper placement of our plane at the gate. He said they were off looking for someone to turn on the light. Forty-five minutes later, he’s back with the good news that someone had been found to turn on the light.

Then - “Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you, we are experiencing another slight delay.” He went on for a bit about how nothing had ever happened like this in his 35 year flying a career. He was beginning to sound frustrated. This delay was due to no staff to connect the airway or whatever that thing is called that sucks passengers out of airplanes. Without the hose, there was no way we could deplane. Forty-five minuets later, he joyfully announces someone had been found and we would be off shortly.

We all half-ran to the baggage carousel to collect our bags. When I arrived at the carousel something didn’t seem quite right. The carousel was full of luggage but there were no passengers removing it. In fact, the hall was empty, this could not have been our luggage as it could not have gotten there that quickly. We all gathered around the carousel and watched it go round and round. But no new bags were coming off. Some people got fed up and left the airport.

If unaccompanied baggage can’t fly, why can un-luggaged passengers leave the terminal?

After about an hour passed before a group of representatives for the airline appeared at the door. They could not walk into the barrage section as we were in the international section and they did not have to proper passes to enter. Through the door they told us, all the baggage handlers had gone home and there was no way we were getting our luggage that night. They passed out a handful of business cards with a number to call the next day.

Now I’m getting concerned as I have an 8 a.m. flight to Moscow and it is now 2 a.m. I went looking for transportation to my hotel which I had called to confirm I was still coming while I was still in Edinburgh. “No busses, no trains until 5″ I walked over to the taxi stand and find a line that trailed off down the road. I thought by the time I got a taxi and checked into the hotel it would be time to return to the airport. So I returned to the terminal.

I returned to the terminal transforming from traveler to homeless person. I walked around the entire terminal like Goldilocks trying out different benches and airport seating that met my requirements for a comfortable place to sleep for a couple of hours.

By this time all the good places were taken. I was able to nod off for awhile sitting up on a metal bench but my neck was in a very unusually position. I was concerned if I fell asleep in this position I’d spend the rest of my life staring at the sky. I got up and walked around to see how the others were dealing with their situation. I discovered an entire subculture of travelers all making due. Little drinking groups were formed, card games were started, backgammon boards were pulled from backpacks and the rest just rolled over and went to sleep on the floor or in dark nooks and crannies.

The walk around the terminal was interesting but I was very tired. The thought of what I faced in a couple of hours made me realize I doubt anyone has ever contracted a terminal disease from a terminal floor. I found the first place where I could fit, stretched out and went to sleep. Sometime after I fell asleep I was woken and given a blanket. It was a nice gesture. I awoke at 5 went to the British Airways counter where the service rep helped me get through the security gauntlet, back into the international section to pick up my bag. I then dash to the train taking me to terminal 4 where I caught my plane to Moscow.

I should have saved myself a lot of trouble and delayed my departure in Moscow a day. I arrived in Moscow disoriented but after a couple of shots of vodka and I was back in form.

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