Random neural activity

Not long ago me and a friend found ourselves talking about the worst international airport we’ve ever been (yes, we know we’ve not seen them all ).

My worst ever so far is definitely the CDG (Charles De Gaulle) in Paris, while his choice was the JFK in New York. After reading this post of his I’m wondering if he could have changed his mind…

Well, to be honest my complaints about the Paris airport went a bit further than “it’s boring”. My first (and so far only) time at the CDG has been for a connection to New York. Let me give you a sketch of the story…

On the way out, I arrive in Paris and follow the “connecting flights” signs, just to find myself out of the terminal, facing the highway that crosses the airport. More terminals in front of me, on the other side of the road (that couldn’t be crossed, of course). I think I’ve missed a sign, so I go back inside, just to see that I didn’t miss anything. I ask a few people working behind a counter, and they generically confirm “yes, that way”. So now I’m really going to miss something: my flight to New York!

I realise a subterranean passage has to be somewhere, I forget about the signs and start exploring, finding it not much later (and with no signs pointing to it). Hey, what really matters is that I’m on my flight!

On the way back, I land in Paris just to find out that no gateway is available (hey, didn’t they know we were on our way from NYC?). After approximately 40 minutes a gate is found, but I face a new challenge: there is nobody at the gate that is certified to move the “stairs” we need for getting out… so in the end it takes me a whole hour from the landing to when I get off the plane…

Well, I’ve missed my connecting flight (even if they told me otherwise while still on the plane!), also because many have been canceled. After finding the proper Air France counter (signs are useless also in this case) I get a ticket for the first flight headed to Bologna, scheduled in a few hours. Plenty of people wait with me in that boring no-food / no-drink / no-newspapers atmosphere described by my friend. Our flight gets delayed. Twice.

Then, at last, they start boarding us. After maybe a dozen people are heading down the tunnel, something happens. The gate telephone rings. The queue stops. The dozen or so passengers are called back. Flight is canceled, the just found out that there is no airplane. It didn’t even take off from the previous airport in its daily schedule. No airplane?!? And they tell us NOW?

It’s just unbelievable. We’re back to the Air France counter, where I get a ticket for the first flight the following (early) morning, and a voucher for a hotel room. I ask for my suitcase, as in my hand luggage I have my laptop and a few items but no clothes. They tell me it’s not possible to get it, it’s “ready” in their system for being loaded tomorrow morning on my flight.

As we’re going to the hotel, a conveyor belt starts ejecting pieces of luggage. Someone recognises his own, so we’re all back to the luggage counter: where are our suitcases? Are they going to appear somewhere in the airport while we’re in the hotel? In the end they double check and assure us that no more suitcases will appear on the belt and they are safely stored and ready for the following morning.

The following morning, after spending the night with no luggage, I catch (at last!) my flight to Italy. I’ve spent so many hours in CDG that I could have visited a bit of Paris had they just told me immediately that all the flights were canceled.

Once in Bologna, as a final “surprise”, guess what? My suitcase was not on the flight. It wasn’t that ready to be loaded, after all. I got it only several days later…