It's the schedule I follow almost everytime I go home to Manila. Take the last CX flight which departs at 10:00pm, arrive in NAIA around midnight, then get home before 1 am. Since it's something i've been doing once a month for about 2 years, it's almost like a routine.
Well, the routine was disrupted last night.
The pilot announced that we were about to begin our descent to NAIA in 5 minutes. Twenty minutes had passed, and I couldn't feel the plane descend one bit. A few minutes after this observation of mine, the pilot's voice went on air once again.
It turns out that a Cessna 2-engine plane made an uber sloppy landing in NAIA. It was so sloppy, the plane wrecked its wheels and was stranded in the middle of the runway. Airport personnel have to do two things: one: tow the plane, and two: clean the debris that the Cessna left. Now these two little things will take more than an hour to accomplish. Until then, we couldn't land in NAIA.
So, we were diverted, then we landed in Mactan International Airport in Cebu.
Yes, we landed in Cebu at 12:30 am.
Yes, it was surreal. We landed in Cebu at 12:30 am.
To add to the surreal-ness of the situation, the Mactan International Airport was already closed. We had to stay inside the plane until they can call a skeleton crew to open and operate it. So there we were, 500 sleepy people inside a plane on a tarmac of a closed airport.
Thank goodness Martin was just beside me, so we entertained each other with stories, as well as entertained the thought of jumping ship in Cebu and spending the weekend at Shangri-La Mactan
Cathay Pacific - ever the gracious "host" - gave out free soda, beer and wine to all the passengers. And by 12:45, the plane felt like a huge open bar. People were standing on the aisles - beer and wine on hand - and happily chatting away. The plane became one big soiree as people interacted like they knew each other.
Most of my interaction was with a group of Koreans who were worried that they'd miss their connecting flights to Iloilo and Bacolod. They were supposed to arrive in Manila at 12 midnight, check in a nearby hotel, and fly out again at 5:50 am. Now it was already 2:30 am and we were still stranded in Cebu. Needless to say, they were worried.
My inner Mr. Helpful went into action and talked to one of the flight attendants about the Korean group's problem. The FA said that she'll talk to the ground staff about it. A few minutes later, the pilot announced that the airport was open and that we could disembark and stretch our legs. Suddenly, the "soiree" moved to the airport.
That was when I was able to talk to one of the ground personnel. He explained to me that if the flight leaves on or before 3:30 am, the Koreans can catch their connecting flights. If not, they'll be asked to stay in Cebu and go to Iloilo and Bacolod from there. (Personally, I thought this was the better option since those two provinces are closer to Cebu.) After giving me the "scenario", I gathered the Korean contingent and explained to them both Plan A and Plan B. After talking to them, one Korean lady came up to me and said: "Are you from the army? You're very good at this."
*duh*
At 3:15 am, we all heard the words we wanted to hear. The NAIA runway is open, everyone should board and we're about to take off as soon as possible. And we did.
We arrived in Manila at 4:30 am. Thankfully, we were the first of the 4 diverted planes to arrive. Ergo, the airport wasn't crowded and everything went smoothly. Amazingly, it took me less than 15 minutes from disembarking to exiting immigration. I guess the immigration people knew that everyone was already harassed, so they were easy on everyone. It took about 30 seconds to 1 minute to process our passports. If only it were like this everyday, i'd be a happy man.
I thought the surreal situations would end there.
But no!
Just as I was about to leave, the Korean contingent chased after me and asked me why I was leaving them. Apparently, they were under the impression that since I talked to the ground staff on their behalf, I'd also bring them to the domestic airport. One of the Koreans even held my arm to keep me from leaving.
Ground staff to the rescue! He lassoed the Korean posse and asked them to follow him so they can be ushered to their connecting flight. The relieved bunch went with the ground staff after saying their goodbyes to me.
I got home at 5:30 am, 5 and a half hours delayed from my usual routine. By that time, Javier was already awake and I spent the next hour just playing with him. At 7 am, the bed finally beckoned and off to slumberland I went.
Yup, it was indeed a Surreal Saturday today. But there was one good thing that came out of this surreal situation. I told Martin that it has been 4 years since my last visit to Cebu. At least I was able to go there again. Albeit by accident.
Now that's surreal, but nice.
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