In my previous blog Mother Nature vs. Holiday Travelers I discussed how the horrendous winter weather conditions wrecked havoc on millions of Americans trying to get home in time for Christmas.
Here in Wisconsin we were slammed with rain, fog, ice, snow, and high winds that created white out conditions. To say it led to travel nightmares is a severe understatement. In fact, last night the local news profiled a family from Bosnia who has been living in the baggage claim area of the Milwaukee airport for past 8 days. In Chicago one couple reportedly spent 3 days in the American Airline terminal at O’Hare because Mother Nature wouldn’t cut them a break. According to NBC News, the pair finally made it home to Iowa—-on a bus.
If you too spent time in long lines, dealt with delays or cancelled flights, or experienced re-routing during the last few days then you can relate to this next weather-related travel nightmare. It goes to show that families were not the only ones affected by Mother Nature’s wrath.
When the Charlotte Bobcats basketball team left home to travel to Milwaukee for a weekend game none of the players could have predicted that their pre-scheduled excursion would potentially jeopardize their holiday plans.
What would have been a quick 3-hour flight to Wisconsin ended up taking 10 hours and included stops at two airports, hours circling two more and eventually a long bus ride that brought the team to the arena less than an hour before tip-off. And the trip home was no picnic either.
It all started when players were told to meet at the Charlotte airport at 7:30 Saturday morning. The team boarded their private jet and took off at 9 a.m. At that time Milwaukee was fogged in so the pilot was told to fly to Madison, and team would be bussed 80 miles to Milwaukee.
Shortly before getting to Madison, the fog hit there, too. The team’s plane circled the airport for more than 40 minutes, but there was no break in the clouds. The pilot then diverted the plane to Minneapolis to refuel. Plan B was to fly to Green Bay and bus 120 miles to Milwaukee. Team managers arranged for buses to meet them. But Mother Nature had other plans. As the Bobcats’ plane approached Green Bay the pilot learned that airport was fogged in as well. This time, the Bobcats spent more than an hour circling the airport.
The pilot then attempted to land at a Chicago airport. Finally, at 4 p.m. local time, eight hours after they left Charlotte, the team’s plane landed. Players and staff then boarded a bus for Milwaukee that got caught in holiday traffic. The 90-mile trip took more than 2 hours. The team finally got to Milwaukee with less than an hour before game time.
No surprise—-Charlotte lost against the Bucks. And you would think that was bad enough, but players learned differently.
Because the team’s private pilot had spent all day flying, Federal Aviation rules stated he couldn’t fly again until Sunday, so the Bobcats planned to take a bus back to Chicago and spend the night. Only they couldn’t find enough hotel rooms. In the end the team stayed in Milwaukee, then endured a 3-hour bus trip in blizzard-like conditions to Chicago Sunday morning. They eventually returned to Charlotte a few hours before Christmas Eve.
How’s that for a travel nightmare?
Related Articles:
Mother Nature vs. Holiday Travelers
Preparing For Travel Delays–Part 2
Traveling With Young Children: Dos and Don’ts
Traveling With Children-Learn From My Mistakes
Flying with Children: Layover or Not?
Tips To Remember When Traveling With Children