I just parked my hire car at the multi story at Manchester's T1, 50 minutes to catch my Munich flight and the lift breaks down. Do we make our flight?
Bearing in mind I still have to check my bags in and take the hire car from the top level of said multi story car park and take it to the Car Rental village and get the bus back to the terminal. But I'm getting ahead of myself, I will take you back to 7am when everything was calm and I was packing the car and waving farewell to loved ones. We were on schedule for our European Championship campaign to Budapest, ready for my 10:55am departure. A cup of tea in hand and smile on my face, ready to face Europe's best in the prestigious Championships. Training had been going great and I was ready to just get out there and do my thing. That was before I challenged Manchester's M6 Southbound traffic.
I filled up with fuel in Leyland and headed on my way at 7:30, usually a 40 minute journey but even so I checked the route the night before just to check there were no roadworks. Nope a clear straight run through with probably a bit of work traffic. Well a bit was an understatement, as soon as we hit the M6 there was warnings about delays and an accident way down the way. That meant the que went on and on and on. I'm not used to heavy traffic anyway but this was 2 hours of stop and start traffic with a maximum speed of 26mph in that time. I was a little frustrated to say the least and the fact that there wasn't even an accident was just ridiculous. Sheer traffic brought the M6 South bound traffic to a stand still for the duration of my journey, 3 lanes, 45 miles, 7:30 I left and I arrived at the Terminal at 10:05 with check in closing at 10:12.
To the top of the Multi story we stormed not a parking space in sight all the way up, but still with everything ready for the quick getaway. Jumped in a space, grabbed the bags and now to get 12 floors down to the departures. The lift doors close and nothing, no movement, no sound and no lights on the buttons just still. Stacey and I already pretty stressed as we like to be punctual with time to organize ourselves before we fly. Well no organization here, just sheer will power and hope to make the lift A. open its doors and spit us out or B. take us to our destination. Answer A happened after a very tense eternity of a minute with a very polite message from our captor saying "this lift is out of use sorry for your inconvenience". Freedom, I pick up both the 23 kg bags and run down all 12 floors, obviously for normal humans this would be a struggle but that is my day job and although it would of been a little more comfortable with skates on I made it to the bottom in no time. This was no moment to cheer as I just saw the Manchester T1 map that said I had to go to the 5th floor to departure desks, so back up I ran and then through to the Lufthansa desk. Bearing in mind check in closes at 10:12 and we were in the Multi story parking up at 10:05, did we make it?
"Sorry I hit terrible traffic!" I said "Where are you flying too?" the check in lady replied
"Munich" with what breath I had left
"Oh!" she was shocked,
"Oh?" I was tense, "Ok, here is your Fast-lane pass go quick!" she said with a smile.
So what do I do, i put the bags on the belt and I run straight back out to the car, take it to the car rental village and wait for the bus to bring me back to the Terminal 1 departure gates. Stacey went through security to meet our coach Lyndon who was at the gate as he arrived from the States a few hours earlier and prayed that I was going to make it before the flight left. The next task for me was to find the rental village in the maze of Manchester airport. A few laps of roundabouts and U turns later I was hot on the trail finding the signs that lead the way. Every red light was a ticking clock of wasted time eating away at my deteriorated patience but there was now a light at the end of the tunnel with our bags checked in and I was parking up the car.
Now the race was really on, should I call a taxi, commandeer a vehicle or just wait for the bus? I knew it wasn't far off but the bus could be 10 minutes, I ran for the bus and luckily there was one waiting. In an Die Hard kind of John MacLaine action moment I burst on to the bus and explained my situation to the young bus driver, "they could have my job for this, hold on!" he replied and we pulled away. He showed me a workers access to get straight to security control and I had almost made it, almost there! I sprinted to hear Flight to Munich Last Call, then fighting through the maze of duty free that lies before the Departure gates at Manchester's T1. Around up and over bags and people until I saw Stacey's bright blond hair like a golden shining light, I had made it, sweating, out of breath, at my wits end but they swiped my boarding pass and let me on the flight. Rarely have I felt such relief, rarely have I met so many people willing to help me in my time of need, Thank you Manchester Airport, thank you. Now for me to do my bit in return!
Budapest Europeans we meet at last.
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