Well, the two or three hour delay to our flight soon became more serious as, although the plane was there, nothing appeared to be happening. All other flights had left and there were just the London passengers left. We began to suspect that something was amiss and would have made enquiries, had there been anyone around to answer them. When a uniformed member of Virgin staff appeared, she was mobbed and as the crowd began to move out of the departure lounge and back towards the check in area, we knew something was up and joined the stampede.
It seemed that, although our plane was there and ready, there was no-one available to fly it.
This is where we found ourselves somewhere around midnight - the airport hotel!
This was the reassuring view from our window - one solitary Virgin 747 remaining.
We eventually took off some 15 hours late and were thankful for a smooth and uneventful flight, arriving home just after 1am this morning.
Shopping confessions follow later.