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Taken May 2003 from Manchester to Skiathos

As I have mentioned in previous reviews, I think that MyTravel airways is the best charter airline in the UK. This eventful flight to Greece has surprisingly not changed my mind either!

The outbound flight got off to good start with no delays at all. However, there was a problem with a lavatory which almost prevented us from doing so. The aircraft was a 10 year old Airbus A320 in superb condition, and I found the seating arrangements very comfortable. The in-flight entertainment and service was also excellent!

On the inbound flight however, the tables turned, those of you who have ever been to Skiathos will know that you have to re-fuel at a neighbouring island as Skiathos' runway is too small to accommodate fully fueled aircraft. We were smoothly on our way to Halkadiki airport (Thessalonika) when the sky started to turn gray. We thought nothing of it as we weren't even leaving the aircraft while it re-fueled and soon we would be on our way home.

Anyway, after a 40 minute wait we were ready to leave again so we waved goodbye to Thessalonika... We were at the runway ready to take off, engines on full blast, we started to move slowly, soon roaring down the runway when every passenger suddenly jolted forward as the plane screeched to a halt. As you can imagine we were all very alarmed and some people were almost in a state of panic, but the MyTravel cabin crew rushed to make every effort to calm them. The captain then tried to calm the rest of the plane and told us that it was air traffic control who demanded we abort take off because of the storm which, by this point was looking fierce. So then we had to re-fuel again as we apparently used up 0.3 tonnes of kerosene.

Around half an hour later, as the storm began to clear, we attempted to take off again, and as before, we were hurtling down the runway when we came to a sudden halt AGAIN! This time, it was because of a panel had fallen off the emergency exit (this was due to the first sudden halt). So once again, we repeated the re-fueling procedure as a mechanic re-attached the panel and were ready for take off attempt number 3, when we were told we were grounded because of a fault on an on-board computer. Again, this was due to the first sudden stop and was just a case of bad luck I suppose.

After an hour of failed attempts to move the aircraft, passengers were getting restless so the decision was made to let us enter the airport where we were be given a choice of free food and drink... We were delayed 7 hours in total and as we finally took off, the whole aircraft roared with cheers of relief. Though I may be doubted or criticized for this, I believe that this was a once in a lifetime experience and enjoyed every minute of it. I also know it was through no fault of MyTravel and the captain and crew did all they could to reassure us, which I believe is an extraordinary service!