It was 1979 and we were hijacked. On a flight from Miami to,
what turned out to be, Cuba. Not Havana (because let’s face it, who wants to be
in Havana in July) but Varadero. A place I had never heard of before, but in
July I can think of no where nicer. Except maybe Venice. But definitely not
Havana.
The pilot announced his apologies “On behalf of Eastern
Airlines” for the diversion and hoped it wouldn’t ruin the in-flight experience
for us as the cabin crew proceeded to placate us with an endless supply of free
macadamia nuts and cola, heretofore available only to First and Business
passengers in the Boeing 727. I presumed they were entering into the spirit of
the occasion and embracing our hijacker’s socialist ideals.
As for the persons responsible for this about turn in our
fortunes, not a sight could be seen.
Nothing
changed inside the cabin – we sat in the same seats, the water below us
remained the same azure blue as before and the three rear mounted engines
purred like a kitten might if it were hurtling ninety seven human beings
through the sky.
Silence and the occasional yell of ‘snap’ from the rear of
the cabin as a rowdy group partook in a game of cards. That will be knocked on
the head when we reach land, no mistake senor comrade.
Thoughts of endless cigars and Hemingway workshops fill our heads as
the left wing banked gently and pressure built in the ears. Either we were
descending or had all developed a sudden allergic reaction to vast quantities
of salted macadamia nuts consumed over a short period of time. Well, they were free
and delicious to boot – who could blame the madness in our time of need. Plus they came in such tiny packets it was hard to tell how many you had actually eaten.
Touchdown. A bevy of nothing surrounded the taxi-ing
aircraft – not even a ‘Bienvenidos a Cuba’ from the flight deck. First impressions are lasting and quite
frankly the hijackers’ left a lot to be desired. What was the local time and
temperature, where would one go for connecting to onward destinations? Car
hire, local hotels and had our luggage been checked all the way through? Nothing.
So much for the Latin passion for life.
We vowed there and then to never fly with that airline
again.
Although, it had to be admitted, their nonstop service to
Varadero in July was quite handy.
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