Sorry for the delay not posting to the Blog, but the internet in the apartment is not working at this time, so I am working off a public WIFI site.

We finally made it to Alicante Spain on January  6th at around 2 pm. What a trip, lots of mishaps and adventures along the way. One of the things I am learning is to be patient and flexible when things don’t go as planned. We left Montreal and landed in JFK International Airport without any issues. Once we got to JFK we had plenty of time to get through security and managed to grab a bite to eat before boarding the plane at 7:15. The weather was cold and windy when we left and the take off was a bit rough but not too bad. We were siting comfortably at the rear of the plane and trying to get some needed rest. About 35 minutes or so into the flight, the captain got on the intercom and stated “we have smoke in the cabin and diverting back toJFK”. His voice was not reassuring as he sounded quite nervous. The stewardesses came and ensured we were in the upright and secure position for landing. The pilot did not provide any more info until he was 10 minutes from the airport and told the flight attendants to prepare for landing. As we were approaching the airport the flight was really rough and lots of turbulence was occurring. From our seats we could see the wing of the plane and the ground below. At no time did we see any fuel being dumped from the plane. It looked like we were landing at the far end of the airport away from the terminal and other planes. As we approached the landing we could see the emergency vehicles with lights flashing all along the runway waiting for us. The landing was bumpy, fast and very scary. No one was saying anything in the plane, they just stayed quiet. We landed without any issues and the fire trucks followed us down the runway until we were stopped. Shortly after we taxied to a gate and were let off the plane. It was now around 11pm. We were informed that we would be shuttled to a hotel for the night and arrangements for flights would be done in the morning. They provided a telephone number to make arrangements. We picked up our luggage and took a bus to the hotel. It was very cold outside and of course we were dressed for Spain not winter in New York. Burr…. We got a room at the hotel and tried to get some sleep, it was now 2 am or so. We awoke and tried to call for a new flight in the a.m. and after what seemed like several hours we were told the only flight available was on January 7th and in the Newark airport an hour away. After some consideration and discussion with the hotel and other people from our flight. We checked out of the hotel, took our luggage and headed to the airport to try to arrange a flight from there. We arrived at the airport around 10 a.m. and waited in line for over two hours to get help. We eventually did manage to get a flight to Madrid and a connecting flight to Alicante Spain for later in the evening of January 5th. We went through customs, checked our baggage and stayed at the airport all day. Our flight left at 7:30 pm for Madrid Spain. We landed in Madrid without incident at 8:15 am on January 6th. (Which is a holiday in Spain)

We were now looking forward to the next flight scheduled for 11:45 am. We went through customs and security again, it was fairly easy and there was no hassle of any kind. We found our gate, relaxed and waited for our next flight. At 11:30 we boarded the plane to Alicante and landed without any issues a short 30 minutes later. (so we thought)…. We went to get our checked luggage and they were not there. Apparently both of our luggage was lost. So after filling in the paperwork and providing the contact information we headed to the apartment. Tired and a little disappointed we took a taxi with our carry-on bags and went off we went to our apartment rental. We settled into the apartment that first night and tried to get some rest. We were thankful that we were safe and in Alicante where we had planned. It was not an easy trip and took us almost 3 days and four flights to get here.

update here is the video of the landing, the video really doesn’t do it justice. JFK Emergency landing

After the landing this person came and looked into the plane before we were allowed to taxi to the gate. I was videoing the event until I was told to turn off my phone. worker on the Plane

The airline provided everyone with a $20. food voucher which could only be used at McDonald’s. They were the only restaurant open at that time. Here is a photo of the
group waiting for food and directions after we left the plan. The poor staff at McDonald’s were getting overwhelmed by the orders and the amount of people they were trying to serve.

I will update you with photos and even some video of the emergency landing when I get better internet service. Until then, Adios y que tengas un gran día.