Manchester to Santorini (Amid Global IT Outage Chaos)

Saturday 20th July 2024

A Nervous Start

On the day before my trip, a global internet outage disrupted millions of devices, causing chaos across various industries, including air travel. Thankfully, Manchester Airport in the UK seemed largely unaffected. Nevertheless, when I woke up on the morning of my departure, I nervously checked my airline app and the airport website, dreading the possibility of a delay—or worse, a cancellation. To my relief, my easyJet flight was still on schedule, and there were very few cancellations overall, indicating the airport was operating relatively smoothly.

Despite it being the first day of the UK school summer holidays—one of the busiest travel days of the year—the drive to Manchester Airport was unexpectedly smooth. I arrived nearly three hours before my 13:30 departure, having anticipated traffic that never materialized. My girlfriend dropped me off at the free drop-off area, and after a short bus ride, I found myself walking into Terminal 1.

So Far, So Good

The seamless journey continued as I breezed through security without any delays—one of the smoothest airport experiences I’ve ever had! Before long, I was seated at a restaurant in the departure lounge, celebrating the start of my holiday with a cold Corona and some chicken bites.

It Was Too Good To Last

Despite frequently checking the easyJet app and information boards, my flight showed no signs of delay. About an hour before the scheduled 13:30 departure, we were called to the gate area. We proceeded through the boarding gate and onto the tarmac, where our plane awaited. This was when things began to go slightly awry.

I had made it to the front of the queue at the plane’s steps, but after several minutes of waiting, there was no indication we would be allowed to board. We waited outside the plane for at least 20 minutes, and by then, I sensed we wouldn’t be taking off on time. Eventually, we were instructed to board, and everyone quickly found their seats. I was pleased to discover that nobody was sitting in the middle seat of our row, giving me some extra space to get comfortable.

Unwelcome News

Once everyone was on board, the captain hit us with bad news: due to air traffic restrictions over Europe, we wouldn’t be able to take off for about two hours! The groans from passengers were inevitable, but there was nothing we could do except sit and wait. I resigned myself to reading my Kindle and listening to music on Spotify to pass the time.

The captain assured us they would keep checking in hopes of an earlier departure, and we eventually took off around 15:15, just under two hours late.

Making Up For Lost Time

The silver lining to our delay was that we’d been given a fairly direct route to Santorini and made up quite a bit of time during the flight, landing just over an hour behind schedule at 9 pm local time. I managed to get through security quickly and headed outside to the bus stop. It was just after 9:15 pm and, according to the timetable, the local bus leaves the airport at ten minutes past the hour. This meant I’d just missed it and would have to wait nearly an hour for the next one—unless I paid for a taxi or risked the 40-minute walk. It was much hotter than my previous visit in May, and with two backpacks to carry, I didn’t fancy tackling the journey on foot.

Just as I was debating spending money on a taxi, I saw the local bus turning into the airport. It was running late, much to my relief. There was quite a large queue of people waiting at the bus stop, but I strategically positioned myself to get on board quickly. As it turned out, many of the people weren’t waiting for the bus anyway, so it wasn’t even full by the time we departed.

Checking In, but Where?

For convenience, I’d chosen relatively cheap accommodation as close to Fira Bus Station as possible. Villa Roussa is literally a stone’s throw north of the station. As I got off the bus, I made sure to check the timings for tomorrow’s bus service down to the port, deciding I would need the 10 am bus to arrive in good time for my 11:30 ferry to Ios. I then walked around the station to the accommodation, keen to get checked in, showered, and out again for a stroll around the capital.

When I arrived at Villa Roussa, the receptionist apologized and said that the room I was supposed to have was still occupied by other guests. However, he had a room for me at another property close by. I wasn’t sure what to make of this and hoped it would be nice and not too far away. Although he took me by car, the journey was very short, and when he showed me my room at Amer Suites, I was more than happy with it.

The room was quite luxurious and definitely an upgrade from what I had booked. It was just a shame I would only be using it for a few hours!

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I headed straight out to explore Fira at night. It was after 10:30 PM, but the streets were still bustling with tourists, a stark contrast to my quieter visit in May.

Although I’d only had snack food since lunch at Manchester Airport, I didn’t want to eat a full meal this late, so I settled for a couple of scoops of ice cream on my way back to the hotel. I then went to bed, excited for my onward journey to Ios tomorrow.