Flying Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to Ponta Delgada, Ilha de São Miguel, Açores Islands
It was a short walk to the #60 bus direct to the airport, so we were able to time it with a minimum of wasted time. The Las Palmas airport is small, and there was absolutely no line at security, so we just walked up and went through (And they did not take my full-sized corkscrew that I bought to replace the mini, “ security compliant” one that was confiscated in Madrid. I swear they just make up the rules as they go.)
There is one flight a day from the Canary Islands to the Azores.
We walked the five minutes to our gate, and were there with less than an hour to kill, when the first “delayed” notice appeared.
Twenty minutes.
No big deal.
We saw the plane land and taxi out to the spot on the tarmac; watched as the bus arrived to unload the passengers.
And then the engines shut down.
The delay went to two hours.
At three hours and one minute I took photos, so I can file the money claim according to EU regulations when I get home.
We were getting restless now, it is such a small airport that it takes about ten minutes to walk the entire length.
We received €10 in food vouchers, enough for a small sandwich and half a drink each… at our choice of four places.
We were supposed to fly out at 12:40, and by 18:00 they let us know the plane was not going at all. But, they were waiting for a new plane to come and get us in perhaps an hour and a half.
At 20:00 we received another food voucher, just in time to make it to one of the last two places still open. By 21:30 everything in the airport was closed and it was pretty well abandoned.
Our new plane finally arrived at midnight, and we were off at midnight:thirty.
I found out from the barista next morning that the 11.5 hour delay made the news here in Ponta Delgada. “Mechanical failure,” he said.
Huh.
They were telling us that a crew member got sick.
Whatever. I will file the claim.
Our guesthouse left the key card out for us, and the car rental place kept someone on duty for the three of us who had cars. We finally got to sleep at 3:30.
How do you spend twelve hours in a little airport?
Not very well, that’s how.
It was one wasted day.