Well, today seemed like the longest day ever as we were awake from around 2am. For some reason, I had given us an hour and 40 minutes to get ready :-/ We snoozed the alarm and grabbed a power hour until 3am. Transfer was on time and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time, which is a good job really considering how long it takes to get through to the gate in IST airport. I have realised that I am not tolerant anymore of incompetence and processes that do not work lol. If we had one person check our boarding pass and passport we had 500. The whol thing is a shambles. You arrive at the airport and have to go through airport security before you can go inside so all cases are scanned, remove belts etc. Then you go and queue for the desks to drop off your cases. We had already checked in and printed out boarding passes so this should have been a simple bag drop? Oh no not at all.
You go into a long Snake queue as expected. Whilst in the queue there are about 6 people with these new mobile check-in desk-type things working their way along the queue checking your boarding pass and passport. That seems a good idea I thought, checking stuff while you are queuing so you can just go and drop off your bags. Oh no you then do the same thing again at the desk! What on earth they are employed for is beyond me as they are adding absolutely no value whatsover to the whole sham.
Then you go through a second security area and cases are scanned again, walk through the metal detector whooping with Joy when it doesn't go off and collect your belongings from the tray as you are no practically stood in your boxer shorts you've removed that many items.
We skipped the shopping area as it all looked like something designed more for Dubai Airport. It was all Louis Viton, Prada and other over-priced shite that people wear just to look like they have style and to show off they have money.
We made our way to the gates as that was a half marathon to get to them. People were clapping and cheering at the sidelines and handing us plastic cups of water as we reached the final leg. Okay, maybe not lol.
This was my favourite part. The end was in sight and I could see our plane and the gate. We entered our gate number and our boarding pass and passport was checked as we entered a tiny snake queue (let's call it a worm queue) there were max 20 people. We moved along the queue and at the 2nd bed another person with a mobile check-in desk thing checked our boarding pass and passport again, in case the first person was incompetent and had missed something. But then we walked literally 8 steps (that's no lie) and. 3rd person checked our boarding pass and passport. I said "I hope you are joking? I've not walked 10 steps? Do you think I will have aged 10 years and don't look like my picture now?" He didn't understand so just smiled awkwardly. Then we had a 3rd baggage check and search. Whilst one guy was asking questions and unpacking bags. Another shifty-looking guy with no warning was brushing his wand up and down the back of them and wiping their feet with baby wipes and scanning them for Crystal meth of semtex. Bit late when Im feet from the aircraft I would think.
But to make a mockery of the whole thing, just as we were about to get on Kirsty realised she had two lighters in her handbag that she had forgotten about. They weren't in a plastic bag so the whole checking for liquid farce clearly doesn't work when they weren't detected in 3 bag checks!
Eventually, we boarded the plane and the theme tune from Saint Elmos Fire played as we burst through the finish line ribbon that stood between us and our homeland lol.
I slept through most of the flight and just woke up briefly for breakfast. Finally, an airline where you don't have to pay for everything. It's going to get to a point soon where you have to pay extra so a seatbelt and oxygen mask. Travel companies advertise flights at £99 and by the time you add everything on you need it's about £9500.
Long story short, landed in Manchester, taxi came quick, went to mums and picked up Bella. Home, Watered plants, watch a film then bed :-)