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Bon Journal

Fog in Milan

So foggy you can't see a thing. But you can hear the roar of airplanes taking off.

I rushed to get to Malpensa airport, only to wait for ages to check-in. The Alitalia agent asked me to carry my luggage to the gate as it was too late to check in my bags.

I ran to the gate, only to find an even longer queue for an hour's delay. I had skipped dinner in order to check-in on time.

Once on the plane, we were told of a further delay of forty-minutes.

We were lucky to even fly. Many flights were delayed in order to allow a lower number of take-offs in this dense fog. I heard that some passengers flying off at Linate, the other airport in Milan, were having to take the three hour bus ride to Genoa, the next nearest fog-free city.

I shuddered to think what would happen if history repeated itself. Early morning Monday 8 October 2001, SK686 (a SAS airplane) bound for Copenhagen collided with a private Cessna plane in Linate Airport. The ground radar equipment was not working in the heavy fog. The Cessna plane was running in the wrong direction. More than 110 people died as a result.

I remember hearing the news on radio. I remember it well. And now, it was my turn to close my eyes and hope that it's not my turn yet.

21 November 2001 Wednesday

Air disaster timeline

Fear of flying

Tragic SAS flight on 8 October 2001, crashed during take-off:

Italy (58 passengers) Denmark (16)
Sweden (17)
Rumania (1)
Norway (3)
Finland (6)
Great Britain (2)
South Africa (1)