BEHIND THE SCENES AT GATWICK AIRPORT - British Airways ...

on I then had problems during the descent. The scarypart was the descent from the peak. We had to hold onto ropes and walk backwards while bits of rock werechipping away beneath our feet. It was incredibly scaryfrom my point of view.Our expedition was now over, and to end it after all thepain we went through we stayed at a hotel in Borneowhere we got to roam around the city. We then travelledback to Singapore where we stayed at the York Hotelwhich was a four star hotel. We were also greeted withthe news of the volcanic ash cloud closing UK airspace.We were stuck in Singapore. As we enjoyed our final dayin Singapore many were still worried due to exams. Thestaff was also quite tensed since we didn't have a hoteland were most likely going to be sleeping at the airport.However, luckily, at the last minute, since we were a partof a military based organisation, we were givenpermission to stay at a U.S Marine Base. The roomswere impressive and although meals had to be cookedourselves, we were very thankful to be staying in a ratherluxurious base.On Wednesday 21st April 2010, we were woken upand told that we had to be ready with our kit packedwithin twenty minutes. There was a sudden rush and wewere all downstairs awaiting a group meeting by one ofthe Officers. We were told of the good news that weremost likely going home today and that this we shouldexpect to land at Heathrow Airport at around 21.00.With a few delays before departure and en-routeturbulence and an extremely hard landing at Heathrow,everyone was glad that they could see their familiesagain and had made it back in time for their exams.44 Airways magazine October/November 2010