John,
We'll let you know if, and when, we get a reply to our letter from XL.
As other planes landed at Heraklion that day without any problem, it remains a mystery why our's could not despite several attempts. Each time we began our descent, the pilot aborted the landing as he approached the airport. After circling for about an hour, we were taken to Chania for refuelling. We were disembarked from the plane and taken to a departure lounge in Chania where we waited for an hour before reboarding. Then we went through the same routine again, i.e. aborted attempts at landing at Heraklion, and circling for about another hour. Eventually, the pilot headed back to Chania where we disembarked again. After about another two hours waiting around for some news, we were directed to bagage hall to collect our luggage, and then put on coaches to Heraklion. After a two hour journey by road, we eventaully arrived in Heraklion at 11.30pm. Our scheduled arrival time should have been 3pm! Like everyone else, we were exhausted and shattered, having been up since 5am.
We know these things happen now and again, and would accept that we unlucky on this occasion. But, perhaps one of the most disappointing aspects is that, at no point, anyone from XL offered any refreshments during our delay, not even a glass of water!
The good thing is we were soon able to put it out of our minds when woke up the next day in Plakias, and saw the fantastic view from our balcony - a view of the sea and the bay with the headlands and surrounding mountains. It took our breath away. Having arrived at 2.30 in the morning, this was our first view of Plakias in the daylight. It's something we won't forget.
P & S
