Blog the Fog!

We have observed that it was uncharacteristically foggy last night when we drove a couple of friends to Sanad and Isa Town. Yet, the cold breeze that came with it never doused our desire to have a glass of Fakfahina! Well, I had a glass of Pomegranate blend instead.

However, it was not the cold nor the fog why I did not turn on the air conditioner and the ceiling fan at my room last night. My new room mate arrived. In deference to him, I did not insist on my "settings". It must be really cold because I was not bothered at all. I just hope the poor guy was never horrified by my wild snoring! ;) Whoa, this is actually the first time I have publicly admitted I snore. This is surely a sign I am improving.

Well, the Bahrain Tribune carried today a news about the fog. I must say that this is one of the very few instances I really enjoyed a Bahrain Tribune headline. Read the news as well, if you are looking for ways to kill time:

A ‘fog’ettable day for Kuwait passengers
Flight diverted due to poor visibility

More than 150 Air-India passengers landed in Bahrain in the wee hours of yesterday when, in fact, they were supposed to be at their jobs in Kuwait the same morning!
Thanks to poor visibility in Kuwait, the flight failed to land there and was diverted to Bahrain, along with an Oman Air flight from Muscat and an Indian Airlines flight from Trichy in India.

And, for once, the passengers were not complaining about how they were not looked after but they were all lamenting how long they had been airborne and how they wanted to be ‘home’.

Sadanand Patil acted as the unofficial spokesperson for the predominantly Malayalam-speaking passengers, saying it was a situation beyond the control of the airline. “After all, these things happen,” he said, “and we were, unfortunately, at the receiving end.”

The Kuwait-resident banker, who was travelling with his wife and three-year-old daughter, did not seem very perturbed with the long haul he had but was visibly tired. “We left Mumbai nearly 24 hours ago and went to Chennai and Cochin before we started off for Kuwait,” he said. “Whoever thought there would be fog in the desert,” he said.

Kariappa was not so magnanimous. “I am travelling for the first time. I am scared. Will I ever reach Kuwait,” is all that he could say in his halting English. “Over and above the tiredness, I have not been able to call my family in Chennai to tell them where I am.”

Soon his desire to speak to his wife was answered by a porter at the Phoenicia Centre Residence in Adliya, who loaned him his mobile to speak to her. Immediately after that, Kariappa, who is to take up a job as a cleaner with a contracting company, was a changed man, offering to share his experiences.

John, from Cochin, was quite satisfied with the way passengers had been looked after. “We were finally in the hotels at around 3am,” he said, “and we were supplied with snacks and dinner. We were also told about the latest flight situation. I don’t think we have a reason to complain.”

But he was still not sure how he would salvage his one day’s salary. “I earn KD30 a month working as a labourer and I will lose a day’s wages. I will probably have to do overtime on Friday to make up.”

Air-India manager for Bahrain and Jordan, M N Naik, said later in the evening that all passengers had reached Kuwait.

He said that since all hotels were full, they had to put the passengers into some service apartments. “We also provided them with food and whatever assistance they needed.”

Indian Airlines Manager Sanjay Misra said their flight from Trichy to Kuwait had to be diverted to Bahrain and the passengers accommodated in some hotels. “However, the weather cleared in Kuwait early in the morning and the plane took off.”

Oman Air Manager Isa Al Harthy said since there were no hotel rooms available in Bahrain, the Kuwait-bound flight from Muscat returned to the Omani capital.