Last minute flight cancellation

The night before I go anywhere, I have trouble sleeping. Last night was no exception. The anticipation of the journey was compounded by the heat and the fact that I had just talked to Jerry and was feeling a little homesick. 

I listened to two consecutive Peloton sleep meditations to no avail. I was anxious. I couldn’t still my mind and sleep. The phone buzzed a couple of times with bothersome texts and even one robocall. 

Finally I was calm. Then: bzz…bzz. I was back up. I turned the phone over and saw a message from British Airways. My flight on the 14th was canceled. No reason. Just canceled. They advised me to look at the flight they had chosen as an alternative. I did and to my surprise, the flight was moved from Linate to Malpensa. That would mean I would have to cancel my hotel and arrange the car drop off. A lot of hassle. 

It got me thinking. What if BA cancels again and I get stuck here? What if this is a sign? I Immediately checked to see if it would be possible to move my departure date up without penalty. Sure enough, it was going to let me. I quickly chose the flight leaving Malpensa on the 8th, a direct American Airways flight into JFK. This was the one I came in on. The onward flight would take me to DCA, from whence I came. 

Still uneasy, I changed my hotel from the Novetel Linate to the Sheraton Malpensa. Next, I called Kemwel to ensure I could drop the car at Malpensa. Elizabeth assured me it would be fine (got to love Kemwel -q.v. earlier post from 2010). Flight, hotel, car. All in check. One last detail: the covid test. 

I opened the state.gov site and read that a rapid antigen test within 3 days would suffice. I found a drive through place at Pisa airport that does them for 40 euros. Scheduled and paid. 

I felt a wave of calmness rush over me. I was completely organized, scheduled and ready to go. I drifted off to sleep effortlessly at close to 2:15 am. 

I woke, refreshed, at 6:15, ready to embrace my day in Rome. I got dressed, brushed my teeth and went to the station for my 8:09 train.