De-iced in London

Its always an adventure heading across the Irish Sea to London and this weekend was no different as a surprising number of the green and gold army made a huge effort to support the Leitrim team.  Unfortunately for many who planned to return today their trip will be extended due to the terrible weather conditions in London as the airports are snow bound and flight chaos looms.

The team were very lucky to get home last night considering their flight was three and half hours behind schedule and within 10 minutes of not taking off at all. The first signs of problems presented themselves after check-in when boarding was delayed by half hour.  Eventually the plane was loaded and just after the safety demonstration the pilot announced that the flight would be further delayed as the plane was iced over and required de-icing.  As many planes were in a similar predicament we had to wait in line and eventually 1 hour later with the process completed we were given the all clear to head for the runway. 

Enroute for takeoff we noticed that we were about 14th in line and the going was very slow.  About 5 planes from the the front we veared left and were told that the de-ice system was only effective for 30 minutes and that we were over that time limit so we had to head back to the terminal for a second de-icing.  Again another hour wait as the planes wings and flaps were treated and at 10:55 we were again heading for takeoff.  Luck was on our side as the queue was shorter and finally at 11:20 the plane left the tarmac.  We later learned that if we had not taken off by 11:30pm we would have beenÓgrounded for the night and considering the current conditions it is difficult to predict when we would be back in Ireland.

To the many supporters who made it to London from Ireland and other areas including within the UK we thank them for their efforts in travelling to London to provide the inspirational vocal support on the ground.  We wish all of them well and hope the travel delay is short lived and they get to return home safely.

 

 

02-Feb-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO