Hours before the opening of Heathrow's shiny new Terminal 5, I was a victim of the airport's most bizarre excuse for a flight delay that I have ever heard.
"One of the aircraft in front of us has hit a fox on the runway and we're waiting for the debris to be cleared," the captain informed us as BA Flight 1338 to Newcastle waited... and waited... and waited in the queue for take-off.
I've heard it all now. That tops the railway companies' "leaves on the line" or "wrong kind of snow" excuses.
"I blame Labour for banning fox-hunting," the passenger sitting next to me, a county type from North Yorkshire, cursed.
We were already nearly two hours late after the security incident at Heathrow earlier in the day. But the fox delayed us another hour and it was after midnight when we arrived at Newcastle Airport.
And as I sit in Gateshead's splendid Sage conference centre waiting for the Conservative Spring Forum to get underway, I'm watching Sky News showing Tom Kelly, who used to be Tony Blair's spokesman in 10 Downing Street and is now PR chief of BAA, bowing and scraping before the Queen at the Terminal 5 opening.
Talk about crisis PR. From mouthpiece for a Prime Minister attacked for taking Britain into a controversial war to defender of an airport that London's Mayor Ken Livingstone complained "shames London".
Fox on the runway! It's an original excuse for a flight delay, Tom!
Should have got on a train, would have been quicker even without the fox!
Posted by: James, London 18 Mar 2008 10:58:26
Sky slating Fox? One is still trying to comprehend why [Sky-510] shows the weather for Dublin and Paris, yet ignores the global-capital that is London!
Foxed, no! Have lost my nail-clippers...? You bet!
Posted by: Fluffy, London, England 14 Mar 2008 16:34:30
Lucky for all passengers on board, it was'nt a [Songbird] otherwise they would have needed their [Fleetwood Mac] Is the flight still delayed or have I got time to catch it still?
Posted by: Khalid 14 Mar 2008 14:19:21
A fox run over at Heathrow; how much did it claim on expenses last year and does it have a second home in London that we are paying for?
Posted by: Peter, Fife 14 Mar 2008 13:17:21
I am pleased you are impressed with the Sage, Jon.
Take a good look around while you are in the North East; I think you will find that we are now light years away from cloth caps and Whippets.
Posted by: Patricia 14 Mar 2008 12:58:51
Given that the Concord crash which killed over a hundred people was put down to a tyre bursting as a result of damage caused by small piece of metal on the runway, I think it is a bit tasteless to imply that a fox on the runway was a paltry excuse for delaying a plane.
Posted by: carol-ann 14 Mar 2008 12:52:02
Glad I live nearer Gatwick, though that leaves a lot to be desired. Our airports are so over priced with airport taxes,
and other charges compaired to most other countries in europe, yet the service you get is poor, like for like.
Posted by: neither/niether 14 Mar 2008 12:32:33