Flight and backup flight
We woke around 0615 to prepare for our departure by flight from Gilgit to Islamabad at 0825. The weather in Gilgit looked promising as these mountain flights are highly subject to weather.
We taxied to the airport and waited outside (then in a cafe). It is a very small airport and one can’t actually go in to wait as there isn’t much room inside. We were told that the flight is still pending the weather and we waited till around 0815 before being told that the flight was cancelled. The staff advised us to wait for the 1120 flight (just in case) but we would be transferred to tomorrow’s flight.
We waited at another cafe till around 0945 and decided to move for a change of scenery. I checked again at the airport entrance and was advised that the second flight of the day had been cancelled as well. At this stage, they rebooked us on a confirmed basis for tomorrow subject to the flight operating. The weather at Gilgit was good but apparently there is often bad visibility near Nanga Parbat.
Having a local SIM (with internet) I could monitor the status of my booking on my phone browser continuously (eg. how the status changes, how the flight shows as cancelled and the new rebooked details). All I can say is that PIA’s passenger and disrupt coordination was impeccable. And their call centre is excellent too. I don’t blame them for cancelling the flights as safety is paramount. No doubt, PIA’s onboard experience (on our recent B747 flight) was a bit unrefined.
So it was back to the Medina Hotel and Guesthouse for another night. The day was spent lazing and contemplating. I thought that it would be a good idea to reserve bus tickets for tomorrow afternoon in case our third flight was cancelled too. An agent outside our hotel kindly did such a reservation without collecting any payment.
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- Waiting outside Gilgit Airport.
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- Back at Medina Guesthouse and Hotel; Raji tending to the Jeep.
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- Back at Medina Guesthouse and Hotel.
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- Enjoying my mango.
Losing everything … momentarily
By the way, our excitement for the day was while waiting at the airport initially, Marie realised that she had left he pouch (with her passport, Euros, Rupees, iPhone and credit card) in the taxi. The most important thing to do was to stay put and hope that the taxi driver will return. We rang her phone a few times to attract the driver’s attention to he rear seat where the item had been misplaced.
Sure enough, he came back and Marie offered him a small reward (big by local standard) and a big hug (which was a very unusual gesture for this part of the world).