Going Home

 

Waiting... and waiting... at the gate at Mexico City International Airport

Yesterday I made the journey home from Mexico City to Cleveland, Ohio with a connection in Chicago.  My flight was due to leave at 8:10 A.M.  When going through the usual safety checks before takeoff an electrical problem was discovered, and our departure was delayed while attempts were made to resolve the issue.  The pilot, who I must commend for his professional and personable manner, came out of the cabin numerous to keep the passengers posted on the progress.  He even talked individually with people who expressed concerns.  He told us that he would not fly the plane unless he was completely satisfied that the aircraft was safe.  The passengers actually applauded him a couple of times after his updates.  

More than two hours had passed when the pilot told us that a needed part was not available, and that we would have to get off the plane.  They were able to get another aircraft for us at the same concourse, just a couple gates away.  It was even the same model of aircraft so we could simply board and take the same seat assignments we had before.  We finally took off about three hours late.  Although there were obviously many passengers who missed their connecting flights, the situation was handled in the best way possible.  And in this era in which we so often read of passengers behaving atrociously, it was nice to see the patience, reasonableness, and appreciation for the crew that was demonstrated.  

After boarding the second plane, we finally departed Mexico City.

For me, the delay was only a minor inconvenience.  I had a layover of more than five hours in Chicago, so my itinerary was not disrupted.  In fact, it cut my layover down to a more reasonable length of time.

My early evening flight from Chicago to Cleveland left on time, and arrived twenty minutes early.  It's just a quick hop... the flight is less than an hour in length.

 A view of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan after taking off from 

O'Hare International Airport.

We approached Cleveland from the north, just in time to see a lovely sunset over Lake Erie.

So now I am back home in Ohio... for a while at least.  I return to Mexico in a little over a month.  In the meantime, I still have a number of posts to write about my latest visit south of the border.